Frankly Speaking

Fallen timber (in this 2015 photo, from a recent windstorm) and dead pine trees (from the pine beetle infestation) are causing the Elephant Hill wildfire to keep growing, two months after it first broke out in Ashcroft.    Update: On Sept. 12, the Thompson-Nicola Regional District said the fire had completely destroyed 215 buildings. The Elephant Hill wildfire continues to rage over parts of the South Cariboo, but for many people, the damage it has already done is irreparable. The Thompson-Nicola Regional District, which for some reason has jurisdiction over much of the Cariboo south of 100 Mile House, held an information meeting tonight in Kamloops. It was broadcast live on Facebook and people were able to ask questions. Unfortunately, many of the questions involved the role of the Office of the Fire Commissioner, which is responsible for the structural protection units (SPUs) which are supposed to do their best to save structures from burning. With this w...

While listening to Shane Woodford's excellent Inside Politics show on Kamloops' CHNL radio station this morning, I was struck by something on the station's newscast. Five trucks with relief supplies for people affected by wildfires in the B.C. Interior are being unloaded today in Kamloops. This follows other loads of supplies which came earlier this week from our neighbours to the east, including a load of supplies that went to the Kamloops Food Bank specifically for displaced fire victims. That truckload came from Fort McMurray, which was hit by a severe fire last year which destroyed thousands of homes. The latest loads are also going to the Food Bank. Displaced people in Prince George are also getting assistance from others. There are 6,029 displaced people (4,811 adults and 1,218 children) in Prince George who have registered at the emergency reception centre at the College of New Caledonia. Thus far, the city has distributed roughly $458,000 in grocery vouchers, a...