Pulse FM News Update for Tuesday, June 29

The hot weather has led to an air quality advisory for Abbotsford and Chilliwack in the Fraser Valley and for sections of eastern Metro Vancouver. Environment Canada says the weather system is pinning down high concentrations of ground-level ozone — the harmful gas cooked up when pollution from vehicles mixes with other pollutants and then combines with sunshine. The stagnant air is unable to escape, potentially causing problems for the very young, the very old, pregnant women or people with breathing difficulties, heart disease or other illnesses. The highest concentrations of ground-level ozone occur from mid-afternoon to early evening and the weather says those affected should stay indoors or choose less strenuous activities

The province is providing 12-million dollars in funding to help First Nations investigate or commemorate residential school sites where children’s remains may be located. It says a number of nations have asked for help in determining the next steps for searching other sites following the recent discovery at the former residential school site in Kamloops. It says the funding will also go toward programs to help community members experiencing trauma after the remains of what are believed to be the remains of 215 children were found. The head of the First Nations Health Council says the money is an important first step in supporting the healing of Indigenous people in B-C

The largest 9-1-1 call center in B-C is reporting a record-breaking number of calls over the weekend as the province sweltered under record-breaking heat. E-Comm 9-1-1 says in a tweet that it received close to eight thousand calls on Saturday and 73-hundred yesterday — up 55 per cent from a normal weekend in June. It says the higher volume of calls is expected to continue today with the heat wave only forecast to ease tomorrow on the south coast and continue in other part of B-C until mid-week. More than a dozen school districts in the province cancelled classes for the day rather than hold them in unairconditioned classrooms.

WorkSafe B-C has issued guidelines for employers on a careful and gradual move away from COVID-19 safety plans once the province moves to the next stage of its restart plan. The agency says the switch to preventing COVID-19 as a communicable disease puts into practice recent advice by provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry. It’s asking employers to ensure that fundamental practices like handwashing and personal hygiene are followed before the regular season of respiratory illness begins in the fall and to ask ill employees to stay home. The agency is expecting more direction on whether masks should continue to be worn as employers slowly shift to taking on new responsibilities over the coming weeks and months.

B-C’s police watchdog says it’s investigating the death of a man in Surrey overnight after he was apprehended by the R-C-M-P under the Mental Health Act. The Independent Investigations Office says the Mounties received several calls about a man banging on vehicle doors, hiding in bushes and asking people to let him in their home because he was hiding from police. It says four officers located the man in a back yard of a home and called in Emergency Services because he appeared to be in medical distress but he  was pronounced deceased after being taken to hospital. The I-I-O says it’s investigating to determine whether police actions are linked to the man’s death

Premier John Horgan is expected to announce the next phase of B-C’s COVID-19 re-opening plan today alongside provincial health officer Doctor Bonnie Henry and Jobs Minister Ravi Kahlon. The third part of the four-pronged plan is set to start on Thursday, when several restrictions will be lifted as indoor and outdoor dining will be allowed without a cap on numbers and residents can travel elsewhere in Canada. Henry says vaccination rates continue rising, with some exceptions in small communities in the northern and interior health regions where drive-thru and mobile clinics are expected to make it more convenient for people to get immunized. B-C recorded a low of 38 cases yesterday for the first time since last August, and Henry says any unvaccinated people wanting to visit B-C should not be coming as the province works to fully re-open in September.

Extreme temperatures have forced the closure of two COVID-19 vaccination clinics and a testing site in the Vancouver Coastal health region. The health authority says those with appointments will get an alert through the provincial booking system notifying them that their appointment has been cancelled. They’re encouraged to rebook at any clinic in the region, and the health authority provides bottled water, cooling packs and umbrellas to those waiting outside clinics that remain open. People with appointments at an I-C-B-C claims centre in North Vancouver were diverted to another clinic in West Vancouver yesterday, and the health authority says it has yet to determine if that arrangement will continue.

The leader of the North Shore Rescue team is urging people not to head into the mountains during a heat wave that has shattered temperature records. Mike Danks says anyone hankering to head into the backcountry could be putting themselves and rescuers in danger, and not just because of the heat. He says the soaring temperatures are quickly melting snow, and that could make crossing some areas extremely treacherous. Danks says two people were rescued in separate incidents from North shore mountains last week and that one of them had passed out from heat exhaustion while the other began vomiting.

The B-C Wildfire Service has banned campfires across the province starting at noon tomorrow. The ban will remain in effect until October 15th, as will a ban on larger open fires announced last week. Campfires are defined as anything smaller than 0.5 meters wide by 0.5 meters tall. Last week’s open-fire bans also prohibit the use of fireworks, sky lanterns, tiki torches and other similar torches and burn barrels.

Some optimism in B.C. as the province recorded 38 cases Monday, the lowest since August 2020. On Monday, B.C recorded a total of 145 new cases, with 57 Saturday and 50 Sunday. There were five COVID-related deaths since Friday. Among them, was a person in their 20s in the Interior Health region. Of the new cases, 48 are in the Vancouver Coastal Health region and 68 are in the Fraser Health region, 26 in Interior Health and 1 on Vancouver Island. B.C. is currently in Phase 2 of the province’s restart plan but we could move to Phase 3 as early as July 1 if cases remain low and hospitalization rates continue to decline. Dr. Bonnie Henry expressed confidence in the rollout plan Monday, saying the province’s high vaccination rates continue to be linked to lower rates of disease. In B.C., 78.1 per cent of adults have received their first dose.

A woman in Chilliwack has been arrested after two children were apparently left in a van in a parking lot as temperatures soared Sunday. Mounties say they were called to the parking lot of the Eagle Landing Shopping Centre around 7 p.m. for reports that kids had been left alone in a vehicle. Soon after, police located the mother of the children — who are three and 12 – shopping in a nearby retail store. A 32-year-old woman was arrested for child abandonment,” During that arrest, there was further evidence for possession of a substance contrary to the Canadian Controlled Drugs and Substance Act.” Rail says children should never be left alone in a car, but the heat created conditions that could have led to “a really tragic outcome.”

A dog inside a crate strapped to the back of an RV headed to B.C.’s Interior last weekend has been found safe, while police consider what charges the driver could face. Images of the dog in the crate were posted on social media Sunday, when temperatures climbed into the 30s and 40s across the southern Interior. Monday afternoon, Penticton South Okanagan RCMP announced the dog was found at a campground in Oliver. “I am pleased to tell you, that thank you to the public and media’s attention to this incident, the dog has now been located in Oliver, BC and is doing well,” Sgt Jason Bayda with the branch said, adding an officer spoke with the owner and checked the wellbeing of the dog. “It looks like (the owners) came from the Lower Mainland up to the Interior. What we’re being told is the rationale behind it was that there was no room in the vehicle and it would have been too hot in the trailer, so I guess this is what they thought was the next best option, Sgt. Jason Bayda, commander of the Osoyoos RCMP detachment, says police received a call from someone who had spotted the dog in Keremeos just before 8:30 p.m. Sunday. He says the person who reported the incident couldn’t see if the dog was in the crate when the RV was passing through Hope heading east. Despite sweltering temperatures across B.C., renters may want to think twice before installing an air conditioning unit without their landlords approval, after one Surrey man was handed an eviction notice for doing just that.

 

Cole Lussier, who currently pays $700 a month for a basement suite, moved in right before the pandemic started in February, 2020, and says he can’t handle the heat because he has a condition that makes him heavily perspire. “I don’t know how I would be able to really manage without it. When these really, really hot days come, it becomes very, very unbearable to stay in any sort of room that is at a very high temperature,” Lussier says. Lussier’s landlord told him to remove the air conditioner. When it was not taken down, he was handed an eviction notice and ordered to move out with only 30 days notice, even though he’s willing to cover increased electricity costs. “The thing is I actually did offer her compensation between $10 to $30 a month and obviously, if it costs more, I would absolutely be willing to pay more,” he says. “I told her that on two separate occasions and both times were completely ignored.” Lussier says now that his landlord has twice rejected an offer to help cover rising electricity costs, he’s not giving up. The landlord, says her BC Hydro bill has more than doubled to almost $700 since the winter, and the ongoing COVID-19-related rent freeze keeps her from charging more rent. The eviction notice accuses Lussier of “significantly” disturbing other occupants of the house.