Wednesday, July 1, 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

Ottawa helping guide, but not dictating, provincial reopening plans: Trudeau

Ottawa helping guide, but not dictating, provincial reopening plans: Trudeau
With Canada's two most populous provinces poised to outline plans for a gradual return to normalcy, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Monday that Ottawa will help guide, but not dictate, how provinces and territories should start easing restrictions. Ontario and Quebec together account for more than 80 per cent of the country's COVID-19 cases.    

Ottawa helping guide, but not dictating, provincial reopening plans: Trudeau

Crisis lines face volunteer, cash crunch even as COVID-19 drives surge in calls

Crisis lines face volunteer, cash crunch even as COVID-19 drives surge in calls
Despite a surge in demand due to COVID-19, many distress centres across Canada are dangerously close to folding thanks to major declines in both volunteers and revenue. Stephanie MacKendrick, CEO of Crisis Services Canada, which runs the only national suicide-specific helpline in Canada, says her organization relies on a network of approximately 100 community distress centres across the country to field calls from people.

Crisis lines face volunteer, cash crunch even as COVID-19 drives surge in calls

Conservatives gear up to grill government in modified return of House of Commons propose and oppose: Tories

Conservatives gear up to grill government in modified return of House of Commons propose and oppose: Tories
Conservative Leader Andrew Scheer laid out Monday the numerous lines of inquiry his party intends to follow this week as a modified version of a House of Commons sitting gets underway. They include the state of the nation's emergency supply stockpile, the mishmash of federal economic benefit programs that allow some to fall through the cracks and to what extent the minority Liberals are backstopping provincial efforts to reopen their economies, Scheer said.

Conservatives gear up to grill government in modified return of House of Commons propose and oppose: Tories

Learning to live with COVID-19 requires permanent fixes to vulnerable settings

Learning to live with COVID-19 requires permanent fixes to vulnerable settings
Canada's chief public health officer warned Monday there is still a lot we don't know about the virus that causes COVID-19, but said stopping this pandemic or preventing a future one will require more than just physical distancing and handwashing. Dr. Theresa Tam said we simply do not know yet whether someone who has had COVID-19 will be immune from getting it again, or how long that immunity will last.

Learning to live with COVID-19 requires permanent fixes to vulnerable settings

B.C. university creates institute to take microscope-telescope view of pandemic

B.C. university creates institute to take microscope-telescope view of pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic has placed the world at a tipping point that's challenging social, political, economic and environmental structures, says the director of a new academic research institute at British Columbia's Royal Roads University. Dr. Thomas Homer-Dixon said Monday the pandemic is an event with the power to cause those structures to fall like dominos or shift radically to new paths.

B.C. university creates institute to take microscope-telescope view of pandemic

Drugs and cash seized from a Whalley area residence in Surrey

Drugs and cash seized from a Whalley area residence in Surrey
Illicit drugs and cash have been seized from a residence in the Whalley area following an investigation by the Surrey RCMP. The investigation began on March 5th, 2020 by the Surrey RCMP Community Response Unit (CRU). CRU observed suspicious activity consistent with drug trafficking at a residence in the 11400 block of 124 street.     

Drugs and cash seized from a Whalley area residence in Surrey