National

Campers near B.C. lake asked to leave due to wildfire as new blazes emerge this week

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 31 Jul, 2025 08:46 AM

The BC Wildfire Service has upgraded a blaze in the Fraser Valley to a wildfire-of-note and is warning campers to leave the Harrison Lake area.

It says the Bear Creek fire has reached 65 hectares in size, and road closures in the area have been put in place ahead of the long weekend.

A number of other significant fires have started across the province this week, with high temperatures in the southern Interior triggering a heat warning from Environment Canada.

The Drought Hill fire near Peachland has led to an evacuation order for about 400 properties, while another 225 are on alert.

The Cantilever Bar fire near Lytton, at 650 hectares, also continues to burn out of control as a number of nearby communities remain on evacuation alert.

There are about 70 active wildfires across the province, with 20 started in the last 24 hours.

Environment Canada says recent heat pushed temperatures in Interior communities to daily record highs Wednesday, including in Prince George, Quesnel, Dawson Creek and Penticton — which saw temperatures spike as high as 36.8 C.

Picture Courtesy: THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

Prev Next

MORE National ARTICLES

Ukrainians worry as their three-year emergency visas are set to expire

Many of the 300,000 Ukrainians who have come to Canada on three-year emergency visas since 2022 face an uncertain future as their temporary resident permits come closer to expiring, the Ukrainian Canadian Congress warned Wednesday. Congress executive director Ihor Michalchyshyn said he met with Immigration Minister Marc Miller last week to ask his department to automatically renew the visas for another three years.

Ukrainians worry as their three-year emergency visas are set to expire

B.C. assembles 'war room' as U.S. tariff threat looms on Saturday

The relationship between the U.S. and Canada has "fundamentally changed," regardless of whether U.S. President Donald Trump's promised tariffs on Canadian goods materialize on Saturday, according to the chair of a new B.C. cabinet "war room" to tackle the threat. Ravi Kahlon, who is also British Columbia's housing minister, said the provincial government would work to diversify the province's economy and reduce its reliance on the United States.

B.C. assembles 'war room' as U.S. tariff threat looms on Saturday

Plane was in training spin when it crashed, killing instructor and student: report

A report says a plane was doing a training spin at a lower-than-recommended altitude when it went down in a lake near Edmonton, killing a flight instructor and a student pilot. The Transportation Safety Board of Canada says the plane was working properly and the weather was fine when it crashed in August 2023.

Plane was in training spin when it crashed, killing instructor and student: report

'Staggering' number of families struggle in B.C.'s system for disabled kids: advocate

The latest report from Jennifer Charlesworth's office says up to 83,000 young people with disabilities are not receiving adequate services in the province, and while spending increased by 190 per cent in the 18 years her office has been in place, the majority of that went to salaries and a narrow set of programs.

'Staggering' number of families struggle in B.C.'s system for disabled kids: advocate

Specialist wait lists for B.C. patients grow to 1.2 million people: doctors groups

Doctors of BC and the Consultant Specialists of BC say they surveyed nearly 1,000 specialists and found that about 1.2 million patients are waiting too long to see a health expert in areas such as cardiology, neurology, orthopedic surgery, and urology.

Specialist wait lists for B.C. patients grow to 1.2 million people: doctors groups

Canada can strike back swiftly if U.S. imposes tariffs, experts say

Canadian international trade lawyers say that if the U.S. follows through on President Donald Trump's threat to impose massive tariffs on Canada as early as Saturday, Ottawa could hit back with retaliatory tariffs almost immediately. Typically, Canada gives advance notice of any plan to impose tariffs and takes about a month to consult with industry representatives on tariff targets.