BC Wildfire Service announces burn out operations planned for the Sitkum Creek Wildfire
The BC Wildfire Service is advising the residents living around Nelson of an increase of smoke surrounding the Sitkum Creek Wildfire as a result of proactive burn out operations. The BC Wildfire Service advised the public in a media release. "The wildfire is located in very steep and dangerous terrain and this burn out is...
LETTER: Thanks owed and lessons learned
Ed. Note: for the context of this letter, see full coverage by following this link. I just want to give a huge thanks to all those who played a part in allowing me and my family to keep Chumlee and Rosie. I first must thank my wonderful neighbours who signed my original petition that I submitted to city council and the...
Waneta Expansion Project celebrates grand opening
The Waneta Expansion Limited Partnership (WELP), a partnership between Fortis Inc., Columbia Power Corporation and Columbia Basin Trust, celebrated the grand opening of the $900 million, 335 MW Waneta Expansion Project, near Trail today. The official grand opening celebration took place at the facility with project stakeholders,...
Op/Ed: Deer Cull not support by committee members
Deer Committee members; Norm Walker and Barry Brandow do not support a whitetail deer cull. The deer cull will obviously give British Columbians the impression that the whitetail deer on their historic range is at carrying capacity when the exact opposite is the case. The hunter testimonials plus two 1987 reports by biologists...
Explosive excitement on tap at 2015 Firefighter Games in Pass Creek
The term ‘explosive’ is an exaggeration often used to get people excited about something, but make no mistake – it’s a 100-per-cent-accurate description of the Firefighter Games (see attached video, in which the 2014 opening ceremonies include blowing up a car and RV, and check out the resulting 100-plus-foot fireball). Family...
BC Wildlife Service places area restriction order for Sitkum Creek wildfire
While the Sitkum Creek Wildfire continues to grow — now estimated at 450 hectares — the BC Wildlife Service is placing a public access restriction for areas around the interface fire that takes place immediately. The bans will remain in force until the public is otherwise notified for the wildfire that is now 20 percent...
This little piggy went ... nowhere. Lamonts' pet pigs to call Castlegar home
The pigs have won the day! At a special meeting this afternoon (July 9), council voted unanimously to reconsider the motion of July 6 regarding the Lamonts’ pot-bellied pigs (for full story, click here). “In today’s meeting, council confirmed their intent not to amend the Animal Control bylaw, but to allow the Lamonts to keep...
Fire/downed power line on Columbia, Samaritans step up in a huge way
What could have been a dangerous fire was dealt with by three quick-thinking Samaritans this afternoon, when a power line went down on Columbia Avenue at about 2 p.m., according to fire chief Gerry Rempel. “We were standing outside the fire hall and watched the line go down,” he said, adding he quickly headed over to where ...
SMILE, Castlegar, you're on BC Assessment's camera!
Digital cameras mounted inside a clearly-marked van will soon be on the residential streets of Castlegar as BC Assessment continues to use innovation to update photos used for property assessment purposes. The residential photo update initiative will take street front digital photos of approximately 2,755 single family homes...
Residents told Sitkum Creek wildfire 20 percent contained
More than 200 people gathered Wednesday evening at école de Sentiers-alpins (formerly A. I. Collinson School) to attend a public address on the Duhamel-Sitkum Creek wildfire burning on Nelson's North Shore. Incident Commander Glen Burgess, whose team arrived on the scene Tuesday morning once the fire had outgrown the capacity...
