Top Stories – June 8 – Campfire Ban

That’s it for campfires this summer. With it getting drier and drier out there, a campfire ban in the BC interior goes into effect at noon today. That includes all Central Okanagan communities in the Kamloops Fire Centre. The ban will stay until October 13 or until the order is rescinded. The prohibition does not include the use of outdoor stoves.

It was a busy night for the fire department. First was a wildfire on Balldock road in southeast Kelowna where they dealt with a 70 foot by 30 foot fire that had a few trees candling. So far the fire is not suspicious. Then, about 1am they were called to another fire about 400 feet into the bush at the end of Lavetta Drive in Black Mountain. Again, they were able to do a quick knock down. They’ll be investigating its cause.

Kelowna Council supported a grant application to the Union of BC Municipalities. It’s for funding to develop an Extreme Cold Weather Support Plan for the People Sheltering Outdoors in Kelowna, project. Through the grant, the city wants to complete an Asset and Resources System Map and a Response Plan.

The situation has become so bad in hospital emergency departments across the country that doctors say it isn’t unusual for them to be resuscitating trauma patients on the floor, and examining sick people on stretchers instead of beds. The Canadian Association of Emergency Physicians wants premiers to address shortages of E-R doctors, nurses and overcrowding issues when they meet next month.

Heads up for a free event happening next Wednesday at Parkinson Rec Centre. To help kick off summer from 7am to 6pm you can drop-by for a free swim, workout, refreshments, games and prizes. It’s usually held in the fall, but this annual event will now take place just ahead of summer, to make the most of the warm weather.

The cost of borrowing is on the way up again. The Bank of Canada says a tight labour market, better-than-expected first quarter growth and strong consumption growth are the reasons. The central bank boosted its key interest rate by a quarter-point to 4.75 percent. It says rates aren’t high enough to bring inflation back to the two percent target.

Justice Minister David Lametti says the government will reject the Senate’s amendments to a judicial oversight bill. It would amend the Judges Act to create a new process for the Canadian Judicial Council to review misconduct allegations. Lametti says the changes would do the opposite of what the bill is trying to accomplish. The House of Commons had unanimously passed the bill.

The driver of a slow moving SUV told RCMP he had some marijuana and a knife in the vehicle. He was detained and as police did a search, they found four cell phones, one black knife, 90 grams of cocaine, 28 grams of fentanyl, 180 various pills and a lot of cash. The vehicle was seized, and the driver was initially charged with not wearing a seatbelt or displaying an “N” sticker and possession of cannabis. Trafficking charges could also be laid.

The Pigeon Creek wildfire was still classified as out-of-control yesterday, but continued to show little or no growth. BC Wildfire says there were 60 firefighters dealing with the smouldering fire that has burned about 33 hectares northwest of Peachland.

Dollarama says strong demand held up across the board, from consumables to seasonal items and general merchandise, resulting in a profit boost last quarter of 23% from a year earlier. That worked out to $180 million, compared to 145 Million last year. Dollarama hopes to reach 2,000 stores in Canada by 2031, 500 more than today.

Sports

At Elks Stadium last night, the Kelowna Falcons beat the Nanaimo NightOwls 10-8 in West Coast League baseball. They’ll play again tonight at 6:35

The BC Lions and Calgary Stampeders begin the CFL season tonight in Calgary. Kickoff is at 6.

Game three of the Stanley Cup Final goes tonight in Florida with the Panthers hosting Las Vegas. The Golden Knights are up two games to none in the best of seven.

With controversy swirling about the PGA and LIV Golf tours, the PGA stop this weekend is the RBC Canadian Open in the Toronto area.