Top Stories – August 10 – Some Fire Relief

A number of Evacuation Orders up Westside Road were lifted by the Regional District yesterday. However a couple of orders and alerts regarding the White Rock Lake wildfire, which showed very little growth, were left in place. All the details are on our FB page from yesterday afternoon.

Due to a power outage on the weekend made necessary by the wildfire, the Regional District has issued a precautionary Water Quality Advisory for all customers of three water systems along Westside Road. They include the Upper Fintry-Shalal Road-Valley of the Sun, Westshore Estates and Killiney Beach water systems.

As wildfires burn around us and we endure record high temperatures, the United Nations has released a report on climate change. The first line says: “It is unequivocal that human influence has warmed the atmosphere, ocean and land.” It adds weather extremes that were once considered rare, are becoming more common – a trend that will continue even if the world limits global warming to 1.5 degrees.

Recent rain and cooler weather helped dial down the wildfire risk however, the return to hot, drier weather could quickly change that scenario. The BC Wildfire dashboard shows 81 fires burning in our area, the Kamloops Fire Centre… the most of any region in the province. So far this year 796 fires in BC have been caused by lightning, 465 by people and 188 are of unknown origin.

As has been the case in the Central Okanagan, everyone in BC can now get their 2nd Covid vaccine 28 days after their first. Also, anyone who got a dose outside of BC can register it at gov.bc.ca/vaccinerecord . There were just over 1000 new cases in BC over the weekend, with 587 in Interior Health where 4 people died from the virus.

A Campbell River resident is proposing big changes to the way we vote in BC. Robert Bray has started a petition that would do away with Advance Voting and voting by mail, except for members of the military. If approved, everyone would only be able to vote between 8am and 8pm on election day at their assigned voting place.

A 120 unit rental apartment building in West Kelowna has been given a 34.5 million dollar loan from Ottawa. All units at Harbour Ridge on Old Ferry Road have been spoken for. Canada Mortgage and Housing says the rents are 30 percent below the area’s median household income.

Glenrosa residents can get set for more construction along Glenrosa Road. Construction crews will begin mobilizing to the Glenrosa Reservoir water storage facility site in preparation for construction beginning later this week. Most of the work will be happening between Turnbull and Fenton and drivers should be prepared for heavy equipment using the road.

Starting Sept. 1, kids 12 and under will be able to ride any BC Transit or TransLink service for free. The government says it’s part of its commitment to efficient, reliable and affordable transit for families. It is estimated that approximately 370-thousand children will be eligible.

Sports

Tampa Bay Lightning head coach Jon Cooper will guide Team Canada during the 2022 Beijing Olympics if the NHL participates. Roberto Luongo, who served as Canada’s GM at this year’s World Championship, will also be part of the Olympic management group, along with long time Hockey Canada executive Scott Salmond.

The Winnipeg Blue Bombers were again without running back Andrew Harris and wide receiver Darvin Adams for practice yesterday. Both players missed the team’s season-opening 19-6 win over Hamilton due to injuries.

Baltimore Ravens quarterback Lamar Jackson was noncommittal about getting vaccinated against COVID-19 after testing positive for the virus for the second time. Jackson said “we’ll see” when asked if he’s now considering getting vaccinated.

Basketball money is pretty good. The Dallas Mavericks and franchise headliner Luka Doncic agreed to a five-year, $207-million maximum rookie contract extension. He’s 22.

The Blue Jays begin a 9 game road trip today that will include 7 on the west coast. 4 games are in Anaheim, 3 are in Seattle and then two are against the Washington Nationals.

Even after a dreadful season where he had just 9 wins, the Flyers have given goalie Carter Hart a 3 year deal. The soon-to-be 23-year-old has long been touted as one of the best young goaltenders in the sport.