Sitkum Creek wildfire grows to 150 hectares overnight
Southeast Fire Centre spokesperson Jordan Turner said crews would be out in full force this morning to battle the Sitkum Creek wildfire that grew significantly overnight. Turner said the interface wildfire that started at 10 hectares Saturday afternoon grew overnight to more than 15 times the original estimate. “Right now the...
RDCK issues Evacuation Alert for Duhamel/Sitkum due to North Shore wildfire
The Regional District of Central Kootenay Emergency Operations Centre has has imposed an evacuation alert concerning the interface wildfire burning on the North Shore outside of Nelson, now called the Sitkum Creek Fire (#SitkumCreek). (An interface fire is a wildland fire that puts communities and people at risk. A wind-driven...
UPDATED: Sitkum Creek/Duhamel Creek now approximately 60 hectares in size
It didn't take long for the Sitkum Creek/Duhamel Creek fire to grow. The Southeast Fire Centre is reporting the fire, located approximately four kilometers north of Nelson, had ballooned to 60 hectares in size. Status remains active as helicopters and multiple airtanker groups continue to battle the blaze until nightfall. The...
UPDATED: Wildfire outside Castlegar 100% contained
Sunday evening brought with it some good news for Castlegar residents. Jordan Turner, information officer with the Southeast Fire Centre reported that a wildfire just one kilometre away from the city was 100 per cent contained and in the mop up stage. Previous coverage: Initial attack crews from the Southeast Fire Centre are...
OUT OF LEFT FIELD: Trail and Castlegar's good Karma?
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...
Mayor offers thanks for storm-damage management
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...
Southeast Fire Centre reports small wildfire northeast of Kokanee Creek Provincial Park
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...
UPDATED: Missing couple found, safe and sound
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...
OUT OF LEFT FIELD: So, so, so proud of Castlegar and Kate McEachern
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...
Back-to-back storms wreak havoc; vex officials
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...
