Close X
Sunday, November 10, 2024
ADVT 
National

Wildfires tick up with lightning in forecast for B.C.'s southern Interior

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 09 Aug, 2024 01:31 PM
  • Wildfires tick up with lightning in forecast for B.C.'s southern Interior

The number of active wildfires in British Columbia is increasing after holding below 350 for days as officials warn of lightning in the forecast.

There are just under 360 active blazes in B.C., including 25 sparked since Thursday as many areas in the southern part of the province bake under hot and dry conditions.

The BC Wildfire Service says there's a significant chance of lightning in the southern Interior and crews were bracing for new starts and intensifying fire behaviour.

Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm watch for parts of the same area stretching from the Fraser Canyon to the Nicola and South Thompson regions.

Birkenhead Lake Park northeast of Pemberton has closed as a two-square-kilometre wildfire burns on the mountainside above lake.

The wildfire service says 26 firefighters and two helicopters were responding to the blaze that has forced the closure of the provincial park. 

Still, the wildfire service website shows the number of "wildfires of note" has dropped to six from nine earlier this week.

Campfires continue to be banned across B.C. except for the Prince George Fire Centre, as an earlier ban in Northwest Fire Centre will be reinstated on Saturday.

The thunderstorm watch came after Environment Canada expanded smoky skies bulletins to include Whistler and Pemberton as well as the Fraser Canyon.

Bulletin warnings of wildfire smoke also cover the Fernie area, Fort Nelson in the northeast, and parts of the southern Interior stretching from Manning Provincial Park to Kelowna, Vernon, and communities along the Arrow lakes.

MORE National ARTICLES

Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan leaving cabinet, Trudeau confirms

Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan leaving cabinet, Trudeau confirms
Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan is stepping down from cabinet and will not be seeking re-election in the next federal contest, the Prime Minister's Office confirmed Thursday. A statement from that office said a replacement for O'Regan would be sworn in at Rideau Hall on Friday. 

Labour Minister Seamus O'Regan leaving cabinet, Trudeau confirms

''Tactical evacuations' as B.C. Interior wildfire grows: minister

''Tactical evacuations' as B.C. Interior wildfire grows: minister
British Columbia's minister for emergency management says "tactical evacuations" have been carried out in the Thompson-Nicola area of the province's Interior, where an out-of-control wildfire is threatening communities. Bowinn Ma told a news briefing in Kamloops that the Shetland Creek fire grew "quickly and considerably last night."

''Tactical evacuations' as B.C. Interior wildfire grows: minister

Door to door pranks in Surrey

Door to door pranks in Surrey
Mounties in Surrey are investigating door-knock pranks after multiple residences were damaged. Police say a decades-old prank known as Nicky nicky nine doors, has devolved into cases of harassment and mischief as an ongoing frenzy of pranks takes place in the neighbourhoods of Newton and South Surrey.

Door to door pranks in Surrey

27 heat records broken for BC

27 heat records broken for BC
Environment Canada says B-C broke or tied at least 27 daily heat records Wednesday. Lytton in the Fraser Canyon was the hottest spot in the province at 42 degrees, shattering the 2009 record of 35.3 degrees. 

27 heat records broken for BC

Years after Insite ruling, drug policy landscape is still being shaped in B.C.

Years after Insite ruling, drug policy landscape is still being shaped in B.C.
In 2021, the Vancouver-based Drug User Liberation Front approached Health Canada with a proposal. Health Canada rejected the application for exemption from drug laws, saying DULF's plan presented too many public health and safety risks — but the group went ahead with it anyway, saying it would save lives.

Years after Insite ruling, drug policy landscape is still being shaped in B.C.

Canada's premiers say Ottawa must meet NATO spending target to keep U.S.'s respect

Canada's premiers say Ottawa must meet NATO spending target to keep U.S.'s respect
At the closing news conference of the Council of the Federation meetings in Halifax, multiple premiers highlighted the importance of Canada's NATO commitment to spend at least two per cent of GDP on defence.

Canada's premiers say Ottawa must meet NATO spending target to keep U.S.'s respect