Has anyone else noticed how very different the current news cycle is, compared to what we've become accustomed to? We had a couple of stretches where it seemed like we were dealing with one horrific, traumatizing, heartbreaking story after another - I spent many nights on the phone or Facebook chat with readers trying to sort...

Castlegar mayor Lawrence Chernoff is expressing gratitude in the aftermath of a significant storm Monday evening. "On behalf of the Castlegar City Council and the residents of the City of Castlegar, I would like to thank our emergency responders, City workers and Castlegar residents for their efforts and hard work during the...

The Southeast Fire Center said Friday BC Wildfire Service is responding to a three-hectare wildfire near Kokanee Creek and two kilometres northeast of Kokanee Creek Provincial Park. The Southeast Fire Centre, in a prepared statement, saiud no structures are immediately threatened at this time. "Our wildfire reporting line has...

The couple reported missing has been found safe and sound, according to RCMP Sgt. Laurel Mathew.     "They had made a detour from their destination and spent the night in a camp site, with no cell service to update their family."   Previous coverage:   The Castlegar RCMP are asking the public to keep their eyes open for a...

They say to have compassion for someone, you must walk a mile in their shoes. Castlegar will go you one better. They’ll walk five kilometres in your boots, in 30+degree heat, and suffer right along beside you … and, I hope, still understand that their journey is shorter than yours, and the emotional/mental burden you’re...

While many are hailing (forgive the pun) Monday evening’s storm as the ‘storm of the century’, it actually wasn’t, according to Southeast Fire Centre’s weather expert Ron Lakeman. In fact, it wasn’t even ‘a’ storm at all … it was a bunch of them. “It was a north/south line of storms moving east,” he said. “How that would...

BC Wildfire Service firefighting personnel and structural  protection crews have been busy dismantling illegal burn piles put in place in anticipation of Canada Day celebrations, and the RCMP have been  consulted. These incidents divert critical resources from responding to wildfires and other emergencies.  The Southeast Fire...

A Nelson man believes “Lady Luck” was on his side during Monday’s thunderstorm that rocked the Heritage City. Richard Nelson, at home alone at the time of thunderstorm Monday evening, was inside the family dwelling at the Rosemont Trailer Park when a huge tree crashed through the roof as a result of the Gale Force winds the...

Southeast Fire Centre is advising that effective at noon Pacific Time on Friday, July 3, 2015, campfires will be prohibited throughout the region to help prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety. The campfire prohibition will remain in place until the public is otherwise notified. The campfire ban is in addition...

Residents woke up to downed trees, branches and debris filling the streets following a severe thunderstorm that ripped through the West Kootenay/Boundary/Arrow and Slocan Lakes region Monday evening. "Mother Nature did a little pruning," said one early morning walker on the waterfront pathway Tuesday morning. Environment...