B C Update – CP
Source: The Canadian Press – Broadcast wire
Aug 23, 2017
(BC-Wildfires)
Lightning and gusty winds are expected across parts of the central Interior today as a wave of unsettled weather hits the province, raising concern about an increase in wildfire activity.
One hundred-and-34 blazes are burning around B-C and wildfire service spokesman Kevin Skrepnek says 10-thousand,200-square kilometres of timber, bush and grassland has been charred since the start of this year’s fire season.
Five new wildfires have been sparked in the last 24 hours, two by lighting, one under investigation and two believed linked to human activity — including a grassfire that broke out yesterday afternoon just off Highway 33 east of Kelowna and had the potential to threaten homes.
Twenty-five Kelowna-area firefighters, six from the wildfire service, as well as a helicopter were needed to control the flames and no structures were damaged. (The Canadian Press, CKFR)
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(BC-Wildfires-Assistance)
The number of B-C residents still out of their homes due to wildfire evacuation orders is falling daily and that means officials at the emergency reception centre in Kamloops are scaling back operations.
Emergency Management BC says about 26-hundred people are still displaced, down 12-hundred since Monday, and Thompson-Nicola Regional District spokeswoman Megan Gregory says no evacuees are using the group lodging facility, although 472 evacuees are still registered.
She says although group lodging has been closed, the reception centre and emergency social services are still available for several hours daily.
The regional district expect that, if the wildfire situation remains stable, the reception centre in Kamloops will close by September 6th, or earlier. (The Canadian Press, CFJC)
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(BC-Spallumcheen-Fire)
Fire officials say they have not been able to pinpoint the cause of a wildfire in the north Okanagan that broke out August 10th and prompted an evacuation alert for 200 homes.
The fire in Spallumcheen, along Patterson Creek, started east of Highway 97A and charred four hectares before being controlled.
Armstrong-Spallumcheen Fire Chief Ian Cummings says nothing suspicious has been found but the cause will be listed as undetermined and potentially linked to human activity.
The fire started on a hillside where there was no road, but Cummings says there was no lightning. (CKIZ)
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(BC-Trans-Mountain)
B-C Attorney General David Eby says B-C is seeking intervener status as court challenges gear up against Kinder Morgan’s Trans Mountain pipeline expansion.
The Alberta government already has standing in the case and Eby says the B-C government should also be represented, in order to protect provincial interests.
He says B-C’s full argument against the 7.4-billion-dollar expansion will be filed if the court grants the intervener application.
The expansion will triple capacity of the pipeline between the Edmonton-area and Burnaby, prompting challenges from several municipalities and First Nations who fear the project will dramatically increase the chance of an oil spill. (The Canadian Press)
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(BC-Salmon-Spill)
It’s open season on Atlantic salmon in waters off northwestern Washington State after more than 300-thousand of the fish were released when an open net fish farm collapsed.
The salmon escaped off Cypress Island, in the U-S San Juan islands, just east of Victoria.
Washington state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife says anglers are welcome to catch the average 4.5-kilogram fish, with no limit on size or number.
There’s concern Atlantic salmon could bring disease to already challenged Pacific salmon stocks or compete with the species for food or breeding grounds. (The Canadian Press)
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(BC-Tourism-Tofino)
A senior tourism official from the Okanagan is taking her expertise to Vancouver Island.
The former president and CEO of Tourism Kelowna has moved to Tofino.
Nancy Cameron is the new executive director for Tourism Tofino.
She resigned from Tourism Kelowna in June and that organization has not yet named her successor. (CKFR)
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(B-C Update by The Canadian Press)
(The Canadian Press)
