BC News‹ Aug 12 to 18, 2018 ›

3rd-worst fire year ever

This wildfire season has quickly become one of the most devastating on record in B.C. As of Friday, fires had torn through just over 568,000 hectares in the...

New evacs on northern fires

New evacuation orders have been issued for parts of north-central British Columbia being battered by wildfires, while residents of the region are hoping for...

Bear kills off-leash dog

A woman's dog was killed by a black bear along a well-used North Vancouver trail on Friday. The owner was walking in Lynn Headwaters region park alone with...

B.C. inflation hits 3.3 per cent, topping Canadian average in July: StatsCan

From floods to drought

Residents in parts of northern and southeast B.C. are being asked to reduce water consumption because of drought conditions. The Peace, Upper Fraser East and...

Fire activity flares up

Crews battling wildfires across B.C. braced Friday for intense activity on some of the nearly 600 blazes in the province after the Wildfire Service issued a...

Province ponies up

The Province of British Columbia has announced Friday afternoon that they will match all donations to the Red Cross, up to $20 million, in an effort to help...

Mushroom cloud over BC

UPDATE 12:22 p.m. An avid Castanet reader and cloud watcher has reached out to us to let us know the technical name for the "mushroom cloud" is...

Fire threatens city

UPDATE 12:10 p.m. Efforts to battle the Meachen Creek fire threatening Kimberley and the St Mary's Valley area are making headway early Friday afternoon. BC...

Smoke turns day to night

More than 1,300 evacuees have already checked in at evacuee reception centres in Prince George, as residents of the Nechako plateau flee the mammoth Shovel Lake...

Standoff ends at home

A distraught man has been hospitalized following a police standoff in Port Moody. The man locked himself inside a home on Aspenwood Drive early Friday and...

Highway 3 reopened

UPDATE 11:35 a.m. Highway 3 is now open to single lane alternating traffic, about 20 kilometres west of Creston. A nearby wildfire forced the closure of the...

Red Cross, Y here to help

The Red Cross and YMCA are jumping in to help those impacted by wildfires burning across B.C. The Red Cross has launched an appeal for donations as help is not...

Kootenays on fire

Fires in the Regional District of Central Kootenay are threatening communities on the west side of the Lower Arrow Lakes as well as on the east side near...

Outrage over crash sentence

The family of a young woman almost killed when a car ran a red light in Surrey last year is outraged at the driver's sentence. Manjit Singh was handed a...

ICBC - rural favouritism?

Lower Mainland drivers will be hit hardest by ICBC's planned new rate structure. They'll see bigger insurance hikes drivers elsewhere in the province...

Too steep to get at fire

A northern Vancouver Island village is on fire watch. Residents of Zeballos are on evacuation alert as a wildfire burns on a steep mountainside within sight of...

Motorcyclist killed

A motorcyclist has died in Surrey. RCMP say the incident happened just before 8 p.m. Thursday night after the motorcycle hit the centre median of Highway 10 in...

'A lot of devastation'

Residents of a tiny northwestern British Columbia town ravaged by a massive wildfire are determined to extinguish the flames and rebuild their community, family...

Pilot captures smoky skies

Many in B.C. know all too well what the smoky skies from wildfires looks like – but what about from above? An Air Canada pilot flying over the province...

Opinion: Everyone has a stake in defending freedom of the press

Burnaby RCMP have arrested the Camp Cloud protesters

Mystery man grabs woman

Surrey RCMP are hoping the public can help identify a man who grabbed a woman in Fraser Heights. Sgt. Chad Greig said on Aug. 13 at 11 p.m., police responded to...

Wanted man went west?

A man wanted in connection with a fatal automotive crash in Toronto is believed to be in Vancouver. A 71-year-old man riding a motorcycle was struck by a black...

Bad guy on the lam

Vancouver police are asking for public’s help to find a man facing a long list of charges. Anduele Jonathan Pikientio, 22, is wanted on several warrants...

Smoke relief for Van Island

Some portions of the province are getting relief from the smoke which has filled the skies the last several days. The Smoky Skies bulletin issued for the entire...

75-year-old woman sentenced to jail time over pipeline protest

Tug lifted from river bottom

A tug that capsized and sank at the mouth of the Fraser River off Vancouver has been pulled from the water and officials say the next step will be determining...

B&E thieves climb scaffold

Thieves are climbing up construction scaffolding to access victims' apartments in North Vancouver. RCMP say two apartments were recently broken into –...

Arrests at Camp Cloud

RCMP arrested protesters Thursday as officers enforced a court injunction to dismantle a protest camp and snuff a sacred fire at a site where the Trans Mountain...

Greens won't run vs Singh

The Green party will not run a candidate against NDP Leader Jagmeet Singh in the riding of Burnaby South. Green Leader Elizabeth May says the decision is an...

Truck hits house, baby hurt

A four-month-old child is in hospital with unspecified injuries after a pickup drove into the basement of a Surrey house Wednesday night. RCMP say the truck...

RCMP pushes for evac order

Residents in Fort St. James and the surrounding First Nation communities are packing their bags as the Shovel Lake wildfire rages out of control. The blaze was...

Missing hiker found, safe

A woman missing since Sunday in the mountainous Jumbo Pass area west of Invermere has been found. Louise Baxter failed to return from a short walk after hiking...

Fires prompt flexible flights

WestJet and Air Canada are offering more flexible flight options for passengers booked to fly in or out of some cities in British Columbia, where hundreds of...

Smoke settles in valley

Smoke continues to blanket the province. People flying into the Okanagan get a bird's eye view of the smoke as it settles in canyons and valleys....

12 year old signs for gun

A Chilliwack father is furious after a parcel delivery service allowed his 12-year-old daughter to sign for a package that contained a handgun and ammunition....

Ledcor readies to lift sunken tug from mouth of B.C.'s Fraser River

Furious over festival fiasco

UPDATE: 7:15 p.m. The owner of CannaFest said he wasn’t informed about a woman being bit by a dog on festival grounds and wants to extend an apology to...

Vancouver to explore driverless vehicles with federal funding

Not intended as monument

The man who created a controversial statue of John A. Macdonald says he's pleased it's sparking a conversation about the country's horrific...

Fisherman airlifted at sea

A military rescue helicopter from CFB Comox lifted an injured man from a fishing boat near Haida Gwaii on Tuesday. The man was hurt in a fall on board the boat,...

Serious risk to public safety

Abbotsford Police are warning the public about a dangerous gangster. Even though he's just 19, Varinderpal Singh Gill's presence in the community...

RCMP join the fire fight

As the province declares a state of emergency due to intense wildfire activity in British Columbia, the RCMP has now been called in to assist with wildfire...

Remains in river identified

RCMP and the BC Coroners Service say remains found last month in the Fraser River are those of 23-year-old Laura Clark of Chilliwack. Chilliwack RCMP say in a...

Motorcyclist dies in crash

A motorcyclist has been killed in Vancouver's seventh traffic-related fatality of 2018. Vancouver police say a 54-year-old Burnaby man died at the scene in...

Need a bigger crane

UPDATE 11:38 a.m. Salvage crews will attempt to raise a sunken tug in the Fraser River off Vancouver this afternoon. A larger crane and barge, along with...

Serious injuries in explosion

A man is seriously injured following an explosion at his home Tuesday evening. At about 7:20 p.m. on Aug. 14, a home-made explosive device detonated in the...

State of emergency in BC

A provincial state of emergency has been declared in B.C. due to the wildfires. The state of emergency applies to the whole province and ensures federal,...

VIDEO: Lounging black bear puts on a show for B.C. neighbourhood

Forget the dog days of summer. If you live in Port Coquitlam, summer is dedicated to bears. Scott Elliott was visiting his girlfriend on Monday night. He...

B.C. bats bunking in buildings, but don't bug out, buddy

21 years of Shambhala

For 21 years, thousands of people have been making the journey to the Salmo River Ranch to get down. The Shambhala Music Festival has grown by leaps and bounds...

Lewd calls target women

Police in Victoria say they have received more than 50 reports of unwanted sexually explicit phone calls aimed at female employees of local businesses. Police...

Record drought on Island

The drought rating for eastern Vancouver Island has reached the highest warning level as hot and dry conditions persist. A Level 4 drought classification...

Drowning at Buntzen Lake

Mounties say a man in his forties drowned in Buntzen Lake north of Port Moody on Tuesday. RCMP Staff. Sgt. Tony Porato says the man was in the water about 4...

Tug carrying 22,000 litres of diesel capsizes in Fraser River off Vancouver

B.C. artist launching pet-urn business for families' furry members

Measles exposure at YVR

Travellers through Vancouver International Airport in late July and early August may have been exposed to measles. An “infectious individual”...

Tug sinks, beaches shut

UPDATE: 3:40 p.m. The smell of diesel filled the air as crews worked to recover a capsized tugboat that may have spilled as much as 22,000 litres of the fuel in...

Cop hit by drunk driver

A Victoria police officer is nursing injuries after a collision early Tuesday between a police van and another vehicle. Police say the investigation indicates...

Missing in mountain pass

A woman and her dog have disappeared during a hike in Jumbo Pass in Southeast B.C. Police say a group of six people was hiking in the area on Sunday when the...

More bad news for gangs

Police say 94 charges have been laid, many against suspected gang members, after police smashed a ring that supplied drugs in south Delta and Vancouver. A Delta...

Evacuation rescinded

The evacuation order for 57 properties in the Houseman Road area just outside 100 Mile House has been lifted. "With the recent rain and the efforts of BC...

Hwy reopens at slide site

UPDATE: 12:55 p.m. A single lane of traffic is now getting past the site of a mudslide in British Columbia's southern Interior where a vehicle was swept...

TWU drops sex ban

A Christian university in the Fraser Valley will no longer require students to adhere to a covenant forbidding sex outside of heterosexual marriage. The board...

Fair time at the PNE!

It’s almost time for the Fair at the PNE. The annual fair opens the gates on Saturday at the Pacific National Exhibition grounds in East Vancouver. The...

A small victory for Pride

One of the oldest Pride groups in the province celebrated a small victory last night. The rainbow coloured Pride flag had only ever been flown at Nelson City...

Wildfire crews stretched thin

Politicians in Northern B.C. are sounding the alarms and calling for more resources to fight a series of massive wildfires threatening Fraser Lake and the...

Trudeau back to BC

Prime Minister, Justin Trudeau, is coming back to British Columbia. The PMO's office announced Tuesday that Trudeau will hold a Cabinet retreat in Nanaimo,...

Politics of drinking

Just in time for the end of summer Angus Reid has released a new poll on drinking preferences and what that could say about your politics. New Ontario Premier...

'We'll take your statue'

The Ontario government says it will take Victoria's statue of Sir John A. Macdonald. The statue of Canada’s first prime minister was removed Saturday,...

Mom pleads for answers

A grieving mother is pleading for answers in the senseless road rage death of her son. Carpenter Willis Charles Hunt was shot in East Vancouver Friday, under...

Fires choke Columbia area

The BC Wildfire Service says 81 new fires have sparked within the Southeast Fire Centre since Saturday, 19 of those in the Columbia region. The provincial...

'Gross and embarrassing'

E. coli contamination warnings at Vancouver beaches are becoming an embarrassment. "It's kind of embarrassing that we're not taking care of the...

Motorcyclist clings to life

A collision between a motorcycle and car sent two people to hospital in Victoria, Monday afternoon. The rider suffered life-threatening injuries in the crash on...

Interpretive sign vandalized at site of Victoria's Sir John A. Macdonald statue

Swept away in mudslide

UPDATE: 3 p.m. RCMP have revealed the identity of a woman missing in a mudslide near Cache Creek. Valerie Morris, 67, was the passenger in a 1968 Morgan...

BC calls for fire help

UPDATE: 2:20 p.m. The federal government is offering support with air power and Canadian Armed Forces troops in B.C. as nearly 600 wildfires burn across the...

Showdown looms at camp

A spokeswoman for a pipeline protest camp ignoring an eviction notice from the City of Burnaby says campers have practised tying themselves to its structures in...

Ban the 'scalper bots'

The vast majority of British Columbians consulted by the provincial government say they want "scalper bots" banned from snatching up event tickets...

Young orca in tough slog

A wildlife biologist says an ailing killer whale off the West Coast is "slogging along" with her pod mates, at times unable to keep up. A veterinarian...

More than 145 new fires

Thousands of people living in Central and Northern British Columbia are keeping a close watch on winds and weather as wildfires have the potential to threaten...

Legendary shoutout

A legendary moment on the weekend when The Rock took time out from shooting his latest movie, "Jungle Cruise" to give the CFL and BC Lions G.M.and...

John A. plaque vandalized

Vandals have struck a temporary plaque in place of a statue of Canada's first prime minister that was removed from Victoria City Hall. A large X was carved...

Pets on a plane: poll

Planning on taking a trip with your pet in the near future? Turns out that age and gender drive massive differences of opinion about pets on planes, according...

Charges in deadly bus crash

Charges have been laid almost a full year after a deadly tour bus crash in downtown Vancouver. The bus slammed into pedestrians outside Canada Place last...

Dad: System let us down

A Vancouver mother who abducted her son and smuggled him into the United States against court order is being released from prison today, and the boy’s...

North-central B.C. communities under expanded evacuation orders and alerts

OPINION: Campaign trail tips for B.C.’s rookie municipal election hopefuls

This just might be the reason why fish leap out of water

Pilot most critical

UPDATE: 3:55 p.m. Five people are in hospital, including one in critical condition, after a 1930s era biplane crashed shortly after take off Saturday at the...

Multiple highways closed

UPDATE: 3:15 p.m. A mudslide on Highway 97 at Clinton and Cache Creek has now been cleared off the road. DriveBC said the highway is now open in both sections....

Protesters gather after statue of Sir John A. Macdonald is removed

SUV, semi collide, 2 dead

Two people have died following a collision between an SUV and a semi in Surrey Saturday evening. Just before 5 p.m., the vehicles collided at the intersection...