B.C. to end state of emergency as wildfire risk winds down
Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 14 Sep, 2023 05:12 PM
The British Columbia government says it is ending the state of emergency imposed last month when thousands of residents were chased out of their homes by wildfires.
The government says in a statement the wildfire risk is diminishing in much of the province as temperatures cool, allowing most residents to return home.
Environment Canada has issued special weather statements for all of Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast, Whistler, Howe Sound, the Fraser Valley and Metro Vancouver. The storm is predicted to bring up to 60 millimetres of rain in several of those areas.
The report, published this month by the Institute for Catastrophic Loss Reduction, says scientists found the root cause was "easily ignitable structures and homes, and not just a wildfire problem."
Metro Vancouver Transit Police have taken conduct of the file and are recommending one charge of assault for a 50-year-old man of no fixed address, who is known to police. The suspect was released at the scene with a court appearance scheduled for June 8, 2022.
Travellers who arrive in Canada are subject to random COVID-19 tests and must answer public-health questions on the ArriveCan app. Interim president Monette Pasher says the extra steps mean it takes four times longer to process passengers who come through customs than it did before the COVID-19 pandemic.
Canada's third-largest telecom company says the investments will be in network infrastructure, operations and spectrum, and will help deliver 5G to remote communities.
The plan is to open 40 so-called family connections centres, or hubs, across the province. Four are slated to provide services under a pilot program from next year — three in northwestern B.C., and another in the central Okanagan.