Police are investigating a head-on crash that killed two teenagers and seriously injured another man in northeastern B-C. A statement from Chetwynd RCMP says officers responded to the crash along Highway 97 just after midnight yesterday. The Mounties say a black 2001 Dodge 25-hundred pickup truck and a grey 2011 Ford F-350 crashed along the route at the top of the Wabi Hill area. They say the 19-year-old male driver of the Dodge as well as a passenger, a 15-year-old boy, were killed in the crash, while the 21-year-old man driving the Ford was taken to hospital with life-threatening injuries.
A total solar eclipse is set to cross through parts of Canada on Monday, offering crowds in its path a rare glimpse of the astronomical wonder. While parts of Ontario, Quebec and the Maritimes are shaping up for good views, the eclipse in BC will only be partial, and clouds may get in the way. Aaron Boley, an associate professor of physics and astronomy at the University of British Columbia, says the moon will cover about 28 per cent of the sun in Vancouver. If the sun is covered by clouds, Boley says it may seem like a normal day — but if the clouds break and reveal the sun at the time of the eclipse between 10:45 am and 12:15 pm, he warns that people should use special protective glasses to look at the sun.
Firefighters in Delta, south of Vancouver, spent yesterday getting flames under control at a lumber mill along the Fraser River. Delta Fire Deputy Chief Dave Ayton says crews got the call at around 1 am yesterday and arrived to find a pile of stacked lumber on fire. He says the blaze was about 15 by 30 metres in size, while several smaller fires were sparked inside the industrial building. The investigation into the fire was to start once the scene was safe.
RCMP in Prince Rupert say a man has been arrested after a fire that sent another person to hospital with serious injuries. They say firefighters as well as paramedics responded to a report of a fire at an apartment building in the north end of the city at around 3:30 Saturday afternoon. The Mounties say officers helped evacuate the units, and one person remains in hospital in serious but stable condition. Police say one man was taken into custody and they’re asking anyone with information, including video footage, to contact them.
The board of directors for the Regional District of Nanaimo has voted to request protection for an area that’s home to a rare flower in the pea family. The bog bird’s-foot trefoil is a low-growing herb with yellow and white flowers that’s found in wet meadows, along creeks, and where groundwater flows to the surface. In an area known as Harewood Plains, part of the flower’s critical habitat overlaps with a permit application for a subdivision development in Nanaimo. At its last board meeting, the district’s board voted to request the BC and federal governments work with the region, the city, the Snuneymuxw (Snuh-NAY’-mow) First Nation and the Nanaimo land trust to protect the area.