Wednesday, May 13, 2026
ADVT 
National

Large, smoky fire extinguished in Metro Vancouver, air quality bulletin to be lifted

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 21 Jun, 2024 10:03 AM
  • Large, smoky fire extinguished in Metro Vancouver, air quality bulletin to be lifted

The Metro Vancouver Regional District says a fire at a trestle bridge in Richmond, B.C., has been extinguished after sending up huge plumes of smoke that prompted an air quality bulletin for the region. 

The district says in an update on the social media platform X that air quality has now improved and it will issue an update to end the bulletin.

The district's air quality map shows the area around the now-extinguished blaze near the Oak Street Bridge on the north arm of the Fraser River is ranked at level two of 10, indicating "low risk."

Richmond Fire-Rescue said earlier Friday that crews had put out the warehouse portion of the industrial fire that broke out near River Rock Casino.

At the time, they were still working to extinguish flames on the trestle bridge at the boundary between Richmond and Vancouver.

The province's driver information system, DriveBC, indicates the Oak Street Bridge is now open in both directions after the fire forced its closure Thursday night.

Vancouver International Airport says its operations are not affected, but it encourages passengers to plan ahead and allow extra time to reach the airport. 

 

MORE National ARTICLES

Spike in Vancouver's homeless count

Spike in Vancouver's homeless count
The count by the Homelessness Services Association of B-C was done on March 7th and 8th -- and identified just under five thousand people in 11 communities, up from the roughly 36-hundred identified in the March 2020 count.

Spike in Vancouver's homeless count

Surrey business community grapples with police tax

Surrey business community grapples with police tax
Business leaders in Surrey are pleading with the province to provide a clear plan as the city grapples with the next stage of implementing a new police force. The Surrey Board of Trade has sent a letter to Public Safety Minister Mike Farnworth saying the city needs a solid policing strategy with adequate wraparound support services and infrastructure as it juggles the costs of the outgoing R-C-M-P and incoming Surrey Police Service.

Surrey business community grapples with police tax

B.C. sets out law to ban use of illegal drugs in many public places

B.C. sets out law to ban use of illegal drugs in many public places
British Columbia is setting out new rules as it attempts to navigate a way to curb the overdose crisis with drug decriminalization. Possession of small amounts of many illicit drugs was decriminalized in B.C. in January after the federal government issued an exemption, but legislation introduced by the province today would make their use illegal in many public spaces. 

B.C. sets out law to ban use of illegal drugs in many public places

'Extremely fluid': Liberals and NDP haven't yet agreed on promised pharmacare bill

'Extremely fluid': Liberals and NDP haven't yet agreed on promised pharmacare bill
The federal New Democrats have rejected the first draft of the Liberals' pharmacare legislation, in what the health minister describes as "extremely fluid" negotiations over the highly anticipated bill. The Liberals promised to table pharmacare legislation this fall as part of the supply-and-confidence deal the government struck with the NDP.

'Extremely fluid': Liberals and NDP haven't yet agreed on promised pharmacare bill

Victoria police looking for suspects in possible arson

Victoria police looking for suspects in possible arson
Police in Victoria say they're looking for two women who may have seen the suspect or suspects in a possible arson over the weekend. They say officers responded Saturday evening to reports of two fires inside a retail store, where staff used fire extinguishers to douse the initial flames.

Victoria police looking for suspects in possible arson

Man rams SUV into police cruiser

Man rams SUV into police cruiser
B-C's police watchdog has found a man who rammed his S-U-V into a police cruiser outside a Vancouver Island R-C-M-P detachment last spring was not seriously injured when he was hit by a single police bullet. One officer was also injured in the incident last May.

Man rams SUV into police cruiser