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

With strong control measures, the federal public health agency projects that 11,000 to 22,000 Canadians could die of COVID-19 in the coming months

Canada could see the end of the first wave of the COVID-19 epidemic before autumn, according to federal projections, but only if strong physical distancing measures are strictly maintained the whole time. Even in that best-case scenario, the federal public health agency projects that a total of 4,400 to 44,000 Canadians could die of COVID-19 in the coming months.    

With strong control measures, the federal public health agency projects that 11,000 to 22,000 Canadians could die of COVID-19 in the coming months

Canada lost more than a million jobs in March, but April may be even worse

The Canadian economy lost an unprecedented one million jobs in March — the worst recorded single-month change — as the COVID-19 crisis began to take hold, lifting the unemployment rate to 7.8 per cent, Statistics Canada reported Thursday. The loss is eight times worse than the previous one-month record, yet economists warned it will likely be even worse in April, when the impact of physical distancing practices and other measures became clearer and millions of Canadians began receiving emergency federal aid.

Canada lost more than a million jobs in March, but April may be even worse

The latest numbers on COVID-19 in Canada

Total number of cases broken down by province and the total number right across the country. 

The latest numbers on COVID-19 in Canada

BC Finance Minister Carole James projecting a grim outlook of the job market in the wake of COVID-19

BC Finance Minister Carole James projecting a grim outlook of the job market in the wake of COVID-19
B.C. Finance Minister Carole James says the province lost 132,000 jobs last month, but it's going to get worse before it gets better due to the COVID-19 pandemic. She says the latest Statistics Canada Labour Force numbers indicate B.C.'s jobless rate rose to 7.2 per cent from five per cent in March.

BC Finance Minister Carole James projecting a grim outlook of the job market in the wake of COVID-19

PM Justin Trudeau feels normalcy can only return with a vaccine in the COVID-19 Pandemic

Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says while he hopes to spend some time with his family this Easter weekend, his focus is on getting new emergency aid legislation passed. He says discussions with opposition parties continue on the bill, which backs up the new wage subsidy program. Trudeau says it is important to debate the democratic processes that could be put in place in the COVID-19 era, which the opposition wants to have.    

PM Justin Trudeau feels normalcy can only return with a vaccine in the COVID-19 Pandemic

$3 million fund to enhance digital libraries across British Columbia

Libraries across British Columbia are getting $3 million to enhance their digital services.The Ministry of Education says the one-time investment will permit greater access to online learning and reading resources.

$3 million fund to enhance digital libraries across British Columbia