Top Stories – Aug 19 – Lots Of Help

Fifteen properties remained on evacuation order last night as fire crews continued to deal with the Mt. Law wildfire. Boundaries of the Evacuation Alert area include those properties north of the Connector including Paradise Valley, and all properties south and west of Glenrosa Road. You can see a map of the areas and the latest updates at cordemergency.ca .  West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Broland gave us an idea of the coordination involved. 10 trucks, 32 structural firefighting personnel were on the fire yesterday from West Kelowna, North Cowichan, Willowbrook, Port Hardy, Port McNeil, Woss, and Sundre Alberta, along with BC Wildfire as well as RCMP and private equipment operators. The Salvation Army is feeding them and the out-of-towners are sleeping at Emmanuel Church.

Liberal leader Justin Trudeau was campaigning in BC yesterday. He promised to support purchasing new equipment to fight wildfires and training 1,000 new community-based firefighters on wildfire risk management. Trudeau said his plan includes an expanded home retrofit program that would help people afford everything from fire-resistant roofing shingles to better waterproofing for their basement.

BC Wildfire now estimates the White Rock Lake fire at just over 81,000 hectares in size. It’s not because there has been increased activity, they have been able to get better mapping of the coverage area. Westside Road remains closed between Deighton Road and Highway 97 North for 40 kilometres with no inbound entry, according to Drive BC.

Health Canada has issued product recall notices for Ravin Crossbows arrow nocks, Marin mountain bikes, Intertex B-Air Blower fans, and various Hallmark softwood round teethers with attachments. Users of any of these products are advised to contact the companies and seek replacements or reimbursements. Details at healthycanadians.gc.ca and click on food and product recalls under Most Requested.

Yesterday about 4:15am, West Kelowna RCMP were told that one of their bait cars had been taken. It was tracked and intercepted around Highway 97 and Westside road. A 22 year old Kelowna man was taken into custody and it was also determined he was allegedly in breach of several orders previously imposed upon him by the courts.

If you’re maybe thinking about having a burger today, maybe consider A&W. Today is ‘Burgers to beat MS Day’ where $2 from every Teen Burger purchased goes to the Multiple Sclerosis Society of Canada. Since 2008 the special day has raised more than 16 Million dollars.

The number of new cases of covid 19 was up in the interior health region yesterday to 230. There were 922 cases in the Central Okanagan in the past week. That compares to 122 in the Kamloops area. All vaccine clinics around here are accepting walk-ins for first or second doses. Just take ID. Details at interiorhealth.ca and click on Covid-19 information.

Elections Canada says it is unlikely we will know the final results of the vote on September 20th. The agency says up to 5 million mail-in ballots will start to be counted the next day, and it could take a few days. Elections Canada says it is up to the voter to make sure that the ballot arrives no later than election day or is dropped off at a polling station.

Sports

First home game of the regular season for the BC Lions is tonight at BC Place. The Edmonton Elks are in Vancouver for a 7pm kickoff. Michael Reilly will be at quarterback as the team plays before home fans for the first time in 656 days.

Vancouver businessman Amar Doman purchased the BC Lions from David Braley’s estate. Doman owns Futura Corporation, an asset management and investment firm. He also has around three decades of experience in the lumber and building industry.

The Calgary Stampeders will place quarterback Bo Levi Mitchell on the six-game injured list due to a broken fibula. He injured his leg in Week 1 against the Toronto Argonauts but finished the contest and played the following week against the Lions. 25-year-old Canadian quarterback Michael O’Connor will start at pivot.

The PGA TOUR’s playoffs are ready to kick off today at Liberty National Golf Club in New Jersey. Weather could be a big factor as thunder showers are forecast for today, Saturday and Sunday.

Athletics right-hander Chris Bassitt suffered a displaced tripod fracture in his right cheek and multiple lacerations after getting hit in the face by a line-drive during Tuesday’s game against the White Sox. Bassitt was released from the hospital but will require facial surgery.

Aaron Rodgers could leave the Green Bay Packers next year, but the reigning MVP won’t treat this season as if it were his last with the franchise. He held out of mandatory minicamp but eventually reported for training camp after inking a new deal that is expected to give him control of where he’ll play in 2022.