The first known cases of Chronic Wasting Disease in British Columbia have been discovered in two deer in the Kootenays. Officials have been keeping an eye on the southeastern area of B.C. for some time, as nearby outbreaks have occurred in Alberta, Montana and Idaho. The two recent positive samples came from an area south of Cranbrook.
Highway 97 between Summerland and Peachland in British Columbia, Canada is closed in both directions due to a rockslide, with no timeline for reopening and the only approved detour being via highways 97C, 5A, 3, and 33.
Record-setting drought conditions have left many of B.C’s streams and waterways too low for salmon to swim up to spawn. Heiltsuk First Nation leaders say hundreds of fish were found rotting in a creek in Bella Bella, B.C., usually teeming by fall with migrating pink and chum salmon.
Scientists from B.C.’s provincial government are investigating a spike in dead sturgeons after 11 adult fish were found dead on the Nechako River over the past week.
According to RCMP, 34 vehicles were damaged Monday — down from an earlier estimate of 70 — while numerous people suffered minor injuries. Three collisions were caused by the storm, police said.
It's coming up to peak flood season in BC with extra thick snowpack melting into rivers. On top of that, an atmospheric river is coming.
"Returning from a walk with the dog I was struck by a mass of bizarre fire orange fungus tentacles covering all the stems of some low lying juniper bushed in our driveway. This is the first time I have seen it in 21 years of living here with the same juniper bushes."
A B.C. photographer and her dog found a Giant Pacific octopus washed up on the shore of a Vancouver Island beach.
District of West Vancouver staff say they cleaned up 40 litres of fat from Ambleside Beach. Vancouver Coastal Health and the province are investigating.
Several people have fallen ill with food poisoning after eating shellfish in B.C. in the last 10 days, and health officials are warning that warm ocean waters might be to blame.
The BC Conservation Officer Service said the latest attack happened around 9:30 p.m. Wednesday night, while a woman was jogging along the seawall.
In the face of climate events such as the intense heat wave and wildfire, Lytton First Nation shows resilience and aims to come back stronger.
As of Tuesday, there were 299 wildfires burning in B.C., with 40 evacuation orders affecting approximately 5,724 people (2,862 properties), in addition to 69 evacuation alerts impacting approximately 32,076 people (16,038 properties).
There are about 17,000 glaciers in the province and and they're an important source of fresh water. Canada Research Chair in Glacier Change, Brian Menounos, says rapid melt could have substantial implications for ecosystems and hydropower.
Air quality alerts remain in place for several areas in B.C.'s southern Interior on Tuesday as more than 200 wildfires continue to burn through hundreds of square kilometres of the province.
The number of deaths recorded across British Columbia during the province's recent record-breaking heat wave has climbed to 808, according to coroners.
British Columbia's unprecedented heat wave and drought-like conditions may be what is causing some Vancouver trees to shed their leaves this week, a scientist says.
Farmers are trying to salvage their cherry crops following damage from a week of extreme temperatures. Cherry crops in the BC Interior have been burned due to the extreme temperatures brought by the heat wave at the end of June.
Lytton, B.C., has broken the record for the hottest temperature ever recorded in Canada for a third straight day, hitting a scorching 49.6 C on Tuesday.
This feature will be particularly perilous because it's so rare in this part of the world. Sixty per cent of British Columbians do not own an air conditioner in their households.
In early April I observed what appears to be widespread disease of Arbutus trees (Arbutus menziesii) on the island. Leaf blight is a known factor affecting Arbutus trees; but I wonder if other factors such as climate change may also be contributing to what is perceived as a general decline of the species.
Also dubbed the murder hornet, the invasive wasps threaten pollinators and have been found in communities along both sides of the Canada-U.S. border and on Vancouver Island. B.C. officials will focus on the Fraser Valley in their efforts to track and eradicate Asian giant hornets this year.
Power has been restored to more than 140,000 homes after a nasty overnight windstorm moved across the South Coast, leaving fallen trees and sagging power lines scattered across the region.
Over the last few years, there has been an increase in the occurrence of hail during the winter and early spring months. This type of weather is very unusual for this area. While our current experiences with hail have been mild, an increase in frequency and severity is cause for concern.
A massive ocean wave that was tracked off the west coast of Vancouver Island in 2020 is now considered the most extreme rogue wave ever recorded, according to scientists at the University of Victoria.
A rare deep-sea fish was discovered on Vancouver Island this month. A pair of friends, Natalie Mueller and Andie Lafrentz, were walking along Whiffin Spit in Sooke on Sept. 19 when they spotted what they first thought was a “large piece of scrap metal.”
The Hemlock Looper Moth outbreak is said to last between 3-4 years and now coincides with an outbreak of Phantom Hemlock Looper which saw its last outbreak more than a decade ago.
In the last few years, I have observed a significant die-off of Western red cedar in several high traffic and peripheral areas of Pacific Spirit Regional Park (PSRP). The majority of the cedar trees I saw were noticeably consumed by browning, small, and young, with most likely more shallow root systems. This is consistent with vegetative stress to which young trees have not developed resilience, but older trees may be less impacted
I have lived along Epsom Drive, between Cedar Hill Golf course and Cedar Hill Road for 22 years. I have seen a common wall lizard once, in late spring of 2020 at our address.
In 2020, contamination of the community water well by cyanobacteria caused the community to evacuate for 26 days. How the well was contaminated is unknown.
Concerns about water safety for human and animal consumption for drinking and for recreation.
Cyanobacteria blooms usually occur in summer.
Like many people in Lytton, council member John Haugen's not sure when he'll be able to settle back home. One thing he is certain about is that his people, those of the Lytton First Nation who have lived in the area for about 10,000 years, will continue living on their ancestral lands.
