Premier visits Midway and Oliver, praises volunteers
Amidst the fire, smoke and disruption of two major interface fires and hundreds of overnight evacuations, one thing has become very clear - the people of Oliver and Midway are some of the most resilient, generous and compassionate in British Columbia. Premier Christy Clark; Minister of Forests, Lands and Natural Resource...
Washington fire 6 km from Canadian border
Edited to add: The BC Wildfire Service plans on -- and may have started -- doing controlled burning called "burning operations" to help control the blaze if it does cross into Canada. Some smoke in that area may be due to the controlled burn. Original: A fire burning south of the Boundary region in the United States is causing...
River Talk — Water still has enormous value
Eileen Delehanty Pearkes has been researching and writing about the history and politics of water in the upper Columbia Basin since 2005. Her book on the Columbia River Treaty, A River Captured, is forthcoming in 2016. Recently, her travelling exhibit on the Columbia River Treaty, curated for Touchstones Nelson, won a...
Homes confirmed lost in Rock Creek fire; fire remains uncontained
BC Wildfire Service has been able to do more accurate mapping of the Rock Creek fire, which started Thursday, and has determined that 29 homes have been lost as well as an additional 11 structures. Rock Creek Riverside Campground confirmed via their Facebook page that their home was one of the structures lost. The campground...
CUPW Save Canada Post Caravan rides into Nelson Monday
Postal workers from across the country refuse to take recent cutback decisions by Canada Post sitting down. Canadian Union of Postal Workers (CUPW) National President, Mike Palecek and the Save Canada Post Caravan is expected to roll into Nelson Monday for a rally outside City Hall. “We want people to know something can be ...
Highway 3 near Rock Creek re-opened to traffic; West Rock Creek fire now estimated at 3,750 hectares
Traffic is once again flowing on the southern highway route through BC after officials re-opened Highway 3 between Midway and Osoyoos late Saturday. The road had been closed to traffic due to the West of Rock Creek Wildfire. Drive BC now reports the road is re-opened from 14 kilometers east of Osoyoos to Midway. However, there...
Regional fire update
The Southeast Fire Centre is reporting 46 new fires in the region since Thursday, all but two of which were lightning caused (the Rock Creek fire is believed to be human caused, but that is under investigation right now). There was also significant lightning last night and the night before, and fire centre information officer...
Environment Canada/IHA issue smoke advisory for Kootenays
The Ministry of Environment, in collaboration with the Interior Health Authority, has issued a smoky skies advisory for the southern areas of the Okanagan, Boundary and Kootenay regions, spanning the communities of: Oliver, Osoyoos, Rock Creek, Grand Forks, Castlegar and Creston. These areas are affected by local and transboundary...
No more angling in South Kootenays
The Government of B.C. is suspending angling for the southern Kootenays due to ongoing warm water temperatures and low flows. Effective Aug. 15 through Sept. 15, 2015, virtually all angling in streams and rivers in Wildlife Management Units 4-3 through 4-9 is suspended. The closure has been put in place to protect fish stocks...
Rock Creek and Washington fires growing rapidly
Update: The Stickpin fire is now estimated to be 8093.7 hectares (20,000 acres) Edited: There was an error in the original acreage for the Stickpin part of the story and that has been corrected. A fire that started in Rock Creek has grown overnight to encompass 2500 hectares (6177.6 acres). In comparison, Vancouver's Stanley...
