Top Stories – Aug 17 – Heat Warning

The next couple of days are going to be hot and the weather office has issued another heat warning. The Central and South Okanagan are expected to see mid-to-late afternoon temperatures in the mid to upper 30s. Overnight lows aren’t expected to dip below 18. Unsettled weather and cooler temperatures are forecast beginning Friday. Seasonal normals are 26 and 11.

Residents of Apex Mountain Village who were forced to leave their homes because of the Keremeos Creek wildfire, started returning yesterday. The fire never got closer than a few kilometres, but there were concerns about a wind shift and embers. Some properties along Green Mountain Road, and Sheep Creek Road remain under evacuation order.

Quebec has started offering a fifth dose of COVID vaccine to residents of long-term care homes and private seniors residences. The Health Department says it launched the new vaccine campaign for at-risk people because it expects infections to rise in the fall after schools reopen.

This weekend, longboarders from across the region and around the world will be here for the Knox Mountain Downhill. The event is set to get underway on Saturday at 9am. Knox Mountain Drive, from the base to the first lookout, will be closed to vehicle traffic beginning at 7 on Saturday and will remain closed through the weekend.

Almost 11-hundred people in BC died from toxic drug use between January and June. That includes 38 in Kelowna which is on par with the same number last year. In all of Interior Health there have been 178 deaths from illicit drugs this year. More than three quarters of the lives lost have been men between the ages of 30-59.

Overall inflation in Canada may have been lower last month due to lower gas prices, but the same can’t be said about food. Stats Can says grocery prices were up just about 10 percent in July compared to a year ago. To name a few things, pasta products were up 20%, butter was up 17% and oranges and eggs were up 17 and 16 percent respectively.

A man who is known to police was the victim of a beating by two men in Kelowna early yesterday morning. It happened in the washroom at Stuart Park. RCMP say he was bleeding badly from a head wound when first responders arrived and required surgery to deal with the injury. One of the suspects was arrested and authorities are trying to identify the second.

Explosions and fires ripped through an ammunition depot in Russian-occupied Crimea yesterday in the second suspected Ukrainian attack on the peninsula in just over a week. Ukraine stopped short of claiming responsibility for any of the blasts, including those that destroyed nine Russian planes at another Crimean air base last week.

American Airlines has placed an order for up to 20 supersonic aircraft from Boom Supersonic which hopes airlines will be able to carry passengers in 7 years. Boom claims its jets will eventually be able to travel from New York to London, normally a seven-hour flight in just 3.5 hours or Los Angeles to Sydney, which is typically a 15-hour trip, in just six hours and 45 minutes.

Sports

It’s quarter final day at the World Junior Hockey Championships in Edmonton. There are 4 games with Canada playing Switzerland at 4 and the United States taking on Czechia at 7:30. The semi finals will be played Friday with the medal games on Saturday.

Whether he will be back with the Toronto Raptors, who drafted him or not is still up in the air. 24 year old Jalen Harris has been reinstated by the NBA and players association after testing positive for a prohibited substance in July last year.

Another Top Performer of the week award for BC Lion quarterback Nathan Rourke. It was the 3rd straight week and 5th of the season. He threw for 488 yards, breaking his own Canadian single-game record, and two touchdowns to rally BC to a 41-40 road win over Calgary.

It’s an early start as the Blue Jays wrap up their home series with Baltimore today. First pitch is just after noon. Last night at Rogers Centre, Toronto dropped its second straight game to the Orioles 4-2.

The MRI results are in and it’s not good news for the Toronto Argonauts. Running back Andrew Harris will be out 4 to 6 weeks with a torn pec. There is also a chance he may need season-ending surgery.