Top Stories – July 15 – Wildfire 1500+ Hectares

Just over a year past the anniversary of the wildfire that almost destroyed Lytton, crews have been fighting another one to the northwest, on the west side of the Fraser River. The Nohomin Creek fire was estimated at about 1,500 hectares in size Friday afternoon and was being attacked from the ground and air. BC Wildfire says about 54 ground crew were on site and a number of properties were under an evacuation order. The cause wasn’t known as of yesterday.

A reminder that as of noon today, Category 2 open fires as well as other equipment and activities will be banned throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre. It will remain in effect until October 15, or until the orders are rescinded. Contravention of a burn prohibition can result in a ticket of $1,150, and if it causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person responsible may be ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.

The annual Across the Lake Swim is the largest and longest running open water swim event in Canada and it takes place tomorrow for the 74th time. Registration is closed but you can head down and support the swimmers who will be starting at the old ferry dock in West Kelowna about 9 and ending at Hot Sands Beach. If you’d like to try another swimming event this summer, head to acrossthelakeswim.com .

Health Canada says the Moderna covid vaccine can be given to kids between six months and five years old in doses one-quarter the size of that approved for adults. Pfizer’s pediatric COVID-19 vaccine was submitted to Health Canada last month and is still under review. Little ones can be registered at: getvaccinated.gov.bc.ca for vaccines starting August 2.

Starting Sunday and running until Thursday, there will be evening delays on Gordon Drive between Lexington and Paret Roads. From 7pm to 6am crews will be milling in preparation for paving happening the following week. Traffic will be managed by flaggers and signage and portions of the road may be closed throughout the week.

BC’s Chief Coroner says after a catastrophic 2021, we are once again on pace to lose a record number of community members in 2022. In the month of May, there were 195 deaths attributed to illicit drugs… the largest number ever for the month. In Kelowna, there have been 31 deaths to the end of May compared to 75 in all of 2021.

The Regional District Board has approved five-year agreements with the City of Kelowna to provide regional fire dispatch and regional rescue program services. They formalize current services provided by Kelowna for emergency fire call answer and fire department dispatch for the RDCO, Kelowna, West Kelowna, Peachland and Lake Country.

Current battery research at UBC Okanagan has led to additional funding from industry partner Fenix Advanced Materials to help with battery development. The university is working on a solid-state lithium battery that will increase performance and stability for powering Electric Vehicles. The new batteries, which could extend an EV’s driving range and safety, are made of raw and recycled materials from Fenix, which is based in Trail.

Anyone who grew up watching The Beachcombers on TV will be sad to hear that the actor who played the character Jesse Jim has passed away. Co-star Jackson Davies announced Pat John’s passing in a Facebook post. He was cast on the series when he was still a teenager and was with the show for most of its 19 seasons.

Sports

In the CFL last night a comeback by the Elks gave them a 32-31 win against the Alouettes in Montreal. The game tonight has a couple of unbeaten teams clashing as Calgary visits Winnipeg, then there are 2 games tomorrow… Saskatchewan plays Toronto in Nova Scotia, and Ottawa visits Hamilton.

After a number of sponsors pulled their funding, Hockey Canada will reopen a third-party investigation into the alleged sexual assault involving members of the 2018 world juniors team. Players must cooperate in the new investigation or face immediate bans from all Hockey Canada-related events.

As players headed into the second round of The Open Championship at St. Andrews today, Cameron Young had the lead at 8 under, 2 shots better than Rory McIlroy. Canada’s Corey Conners was one under on the Old Course, while Tiger Woods was 6 over for his first round.

The Indiana Pacers signed Phoenix Suns center Deandre Ayton to an NBA-record four-year, 133-million dollar maximum contract offer sheet. However, the Suns matched it a few hours later making sure he will stay in Arizona.

The Blue Jays began a 4 game home series against the Royals last night with a 3-1 loss. Game 2 gets underway with the first pitch just after 4 this afternoon.

So why Columbus? Johnny Gaudreau says it’s fun to play there and there’s a good young group. The star forward says the Ohio city has been circled on his list for some time, and his wife agreed that it would be a good fit.