Top Stories – Sept 6 – More Burns

The McDougall Creek wildfire remains classified as out of control. There could be an increase in smoke and bucketing helicopters in the next few days as crews will try for planned burns of about 400 hectares on the north and west sides of Carrot Mountain to remove fuel. Some property owners up Westside Road will be allowed temporary access to their homes over the next few days to gather things. Details are at cordemergency.ca. It’s anticipated that it will be one to two weeks before it is safe to remove all 405 Evacuation Orders still in place. All evacuation alerts have been lifted for the Clifton/McKinley and Lake Country wildfire areas. The two fires are classified as under control and residents can resume their normal activities and unpack “go” bags.

The shelves have been filled with food at the Yellowknife Co-op, and the grocery store is now preparing for tens of thousands of people to return as an evacuation order is lifted today. Residents have been advised they should prepare to be self-reliant for 72 hours upon their return.

Former Ottawa mayor Jim Watson will be among 22 witnesses called by the prosecution at the criminal trial of two “Freedom Convoy” organizers. Tamara Lich and Chris Barber are answering charges related to their roles in the protest that threw the capital into chaos last year and paralyzed its downtown core for weeks. The Crown says it intends to show the Ottawa courtroom dozens of videos, photos and letters from the protest during the trial.

The Regional District is hosting the annual free tire collection event this weekend. Residents can drop off any old or unused tires, on or off rims that may be a breeding ground for mosquitoes, or you just want to get rid of. It happens on Saturday in parking lot 17 at Okanagan College on KLO from 9-2.

A class-action lawsuit alleging Facebook illegally allowed advertisers to target users based on their race, age and gender can move forward after the Supreme Court of Canada declined to hear an appeal from the social media giant. The suit was brought on behalf of a 65-year-old woman who was looking for a new job. She alleges she was never shown employment ads on Facebook, despite being an active user, because advertisers chose to exclude people her age.

Manitobans will head to the polls October 3rd for a provincial election. Premier Heather Stefanson aims to lead the Progressive Conservatives to a third straight majority. But it could be an uphill battle as the Opposition New Democrats have been leading in the polls, especially in Winnipeg.

Prime Minister Trudeau says Ottawa is loaning Indonesia more than 100-million dollars to build green infrastructure for clean water and solar power. He and Trade Minister Mary Ng also announced that Canada is opening an export development office in Jakarta as a way to bring more Canadian businesses to the area. Indonesia is the largest economy in the region.

SPORTS

As training camp continues this week at Prospera Place, the Kelowna Rockets trimmed the roster down to 50 players yesterday. Still on the ice are 5 goaltenders, 15 defencemen and 30 forwards. The first preseason home game is on Saturday against Kamloops.

Last road game for a while for the Blue Jays. It’s a 12:30 start in Oakland this afternoon before they head home for 10.

Conner Bedard got his latest welcome-to-the-NHL moment yesterday, skating on the ice in the Blackhawks’ home red jersey and his new team’s full gear for the first time. He said growing up seeing their Stanley Cup runs was pretty cool, so to put the jersey on is really special.

Kansas City Chiefs Travis Kelce’s status for tomorrow’s NFL season-opener against the Detroit Lions is uncertain. The star tight end hyperextended his knee during yesterday’s practice according to head coach Andy Reid.