Tuesday, June 30, 2026
ADVT 
National

Wildfire starts unrelenting in British Columbia

Darpan News Desk The Canadian Press, 08 Jul, 2021 11:33 AM
  • Wildfire starts unrelenting in British Columbia

More than two dozen wildfires sparked overnight across British Columbia and the BC Wildfire Service website shows nearly half are believed to have been caused by lightning.

One of those blazes has already charred more than two-square kilometres of bush in northwestern B.C., forcing an evacuation order and alerts for properties around Bulkley Lake.

The wildfire service says the fire is classified as out of control but 15 firefighters, backed by five pieces of heavy equipment, worked through the night to keep flames away from any structures.

The evacuation area covers a section of Highway 16 northwest of Burns Lake as well as part of CN Rail's main line to Prince Rupert but DriveBC, the province's online road condition website, does not list any travel disruptions.

There are more than 200 active fires burning across the province, of which 15 are classified as highly visible or potentially threatening, including the blaze that destroyed the Village of Lytton last week and a 392-square kilometre fire northwest of Kamloops.

Both those fires remain out of control with the fire danger rating for most of B.C. ranked at high to extreme.

MORE National ARTICLES

Military identifies service members missing in deadly helicopter crash

Military identifies service members missing in deadly helicopter crash
The Canadian military is deploying a flight investigation team to look into the causes of a helicopter crash off the coast of Greece that has claimed the life of at least one service member and left five others missing. Prime Minister Justin Trudeau confirmed during a news conference that six people were aboard the Cyclone helicopter that went down in the Ionian Sea on Wednesday as the aircraft was returning to the Halifax-based frigate HMCS Fredericton from a NATO training mission.

Military identifies service members missing in deadly helicopter crash

Budget officer says federal deficit could top $252 billion

Budget officer says federal deficit could top $252 billion
Parliament's budget watchdog says that it's likely the federal deficit for the year will hit $252.1 billion as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic, and could go even higher if emergency measures remain in place longer than planned. The figure is an estimate based on the almost $146 billion in spending measures the government has announced to help cushion the economic blow from the pandemic, estimated declines in the country's gross domestic product, and the price of oil remaining well below previous expectations.

Budget officer says federal deficit could top $252 billion

Canadian support for gender equality doesn't match reality, survey suggests

Canadian support for gender equality doesn't match reality, survey suggests
Canadian support for the principle of equal rights for women and men is among the highest in the world — but in practice, archaic attitudes towards gender roles are still alive and well both at home and around the globe, a new survey suggests. Respondents to the international Pew Research Center poll released Thursday expressed overwhelming support for the concept of gender equality — 93 per cent of Canadians surveyed ranked it as "very important," second only to Sweden at 96 per cent.

Canadian support for gender equality doesn't match reality, survey suggests

Feds to move on assault-style rifle ban

Feds to move on assault-style rifle ban
The federal government is poised to ban a variety of assault-style rifles, including the type used in the 1989 Montreal Massacre. During the fall election campaign, the Liberals said guns designed to inflict mass human casualties have no place in Canada.    

Feds to move on assault-style rifle ban

B.C. defers stumpage fees to aid forest industry during pandemic

B.C. defers stumpage fees to aid forest industry during pandemic
Premier John Horgan says in a news release the government will defer stumpage fees for the next three months to help forest companies with their financial liquidity during the crisis. Stumpage is the fee forest operators pay the province to harvest, buy or sell trees from Crown land.

B.C. defers stumpage fees to aid forest industry during pandemic

'Suspected' explosive device detonated after traffic stop: Vancouver police

'Suspected' explosive device detonated after traffic stop: Vancouver police
A traffic stop by Vancouver police led to a device being detonated by the bomb squad on Tuesday. The incident began when a suspect was pulled over in Vancouver's Downtown Eastside and officers noticed what appeared to be fentanyl in his car.

'Suspected' explosive device detonated after traffic stop: Vancouver police