🌤️ High 23C

Good morning!

I’m back from Calgary. My original flight was cancelled. Air Canada rerouted me to Prince George on a tiny propeller plane belonging to an airline called Central Mountain Air. I felt a bit nervous when I saw the plane, which resembled a relic from the ’80s.

Surprisingly, this small airline offered decent service, comfortable seats, and loads of legroom. The mountain views were breathtaking. I didn’t know there were so many glaciers in Northern BC. The experience was light years above and beyond all the “budget” airlines.

I spent a few hours in Prince George. While I didn’t see much of the city, I went into town for lunch. On the way to and from the airport, I saw horses grazing under a rainbow near stone cottages. It was my first visit to Prince George, so thank you, Air Canada, for the complimentary trip.

This morning, I was happy to hear the flight attendants and Air Canada have reached a tentative agreement. I’ve received many interesting comments from readers about the Air Canada strike. I read all of your emails, thanks for taking the time to write, even those who think I work for CUPE or something. I don’t. I just sympathize with Air Canada workers and hope they get a fair deal.

I’ll publish reader comments on Friday, so if you want to add your comments, please answer the poll below.

– Lubna

Traffic & Weather

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope 

🚘 Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google, and find DriveBC’s latest updates.

🛣 Click here for links to road cameras across the Fraser Valley, including those for the Coquihalla, Highway 7, Hope-Princeton, Fraser Canyon, and Highway 1 in Langley and Abbotsford.

News

Why reckless humans aren't to blame for BC's fire crisis

According to the BC Wildfire Service, 919 wildfires started this year (2025), burning 732,914 hectares. Lightning sparked 465 wildfires, while 427 were human-caused. At present, 61 are still actively burning. In this story from 2023, Tyler delved into what it means for a wildfire to be “human-caused” and the role humans play in sparking wildfires.

A bird touches a power line and explodes in a ball of feathers and flame. Its carcass falls to the ground, setting the dried-out brush ablaze.

Another “human-caused” fire has begun.

Every year, hundreds of wildfires in British Columbia are declared to be “human-caused.” Such statements regularly prompt declarations that if only people behaved themselves, wildfires wouldn’t be quite so disrupting. Others increasingly use the statistic to conspiratorially blame wildfires on “arsonists.”

But as our unfortunate bird demonstrates, many fires blamed on humans aren’t actually related to reckless behaviour. Instead, humans play a much more complex and varied influence on wildfire ignitions than many realize. And that has a bearing on how—and when—we seek to prevent such blazes.

Read the full story here.

Related

Need to Know

💔 Police are seeking witnesses to a fatal highway rollover that killed an elderly Agassiz woman during Chilliwack's air show weekend. [Hope Standard]

🚔 Provincial investigators found no police misconduct in a January crash where a fleeing vehicle drove the wrong way on Mission Bridge and collided head-on with another car. [Abbotsford News]

🔥 A truck fire destroyed a mango shipment and blocked traffic on the Coquihalla Highway near Coldwater Road on Friday morning. [The Progress]

📚 Mission Library plans to recognize young participants who finished their summer reading challenge with a special ceremony on Aug. 23. [Mission City Record]

🎬 The Abbotsford Film Festival will screen a documentary about a father who created a mental health program for young athletes after losing his son to suicide. [Abbotsford News]

🎭 Developers want to transform a recently closed four-screen cinema in Chilliwack into residential apartments through a zoning change application. [Fraser Valley Today]

🌧️ A single day of rainfall in Agassiz-Harrison broke a 100-year weather record, delivering nearly a month's worth of precipitation. [Agassiz Harrison Observer]

🏥 Dermot Kelly takes over as Fraser Health's new chief executive following months of interim leadership after the previous CEO's departure. [Hope Standard]

🍜 A busy Chilliwack pho restaurant will move to a shopping centre location this weekend to accommodate more customers and provide better parking. [Fraser Valley Today]

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The Agenda

Langley construction site fire considered suspicious

At around 4am on Sunday, Aug. 17, Langley RCMP received a call about a fire at a construction site at 201 Street and Fraser Highway, Langley. The blaze quickly spread through a building, turning into a four-alarm fire that threatened to engulf neighbouring buildings. Fire crews from Surrey and the Township of Langley joined the Langley firefighters in responding to the fire.

According to Langley RCMP, no one was injured in the blaze, but the residents of neighbouring buildings were evacuated as a precautionary measure.

The police are currently investigating the cause of the fire, which is considered suspicious. They are also asking anyone who has more information about the fire, including dashcam footage, to call Langley RCMP at 604-532-3200 and quote file number 2025-26994.

“Out of an abundance of caution, several neighbouring residential buildings were evacuated,” said Sergeant Zynal Sharoom of the Langley RCMP. “We are working with the Langley City Fire Rescue on this incident and the investigation into the cause of this fire is on-going.”

The development under construction, Florence on Fraser, was scheduled for completion in the spring of 2026. The six-storey, 144-unit rental building was approved by the City of Langley in 2021.

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🗓 Things to do

Free weekly yoga sessions: Every Wednesday from 6-7pm, take part in free yoga sessions at Jubilee Park in Abbotsford, led by instructor Jess Hart with a loyalty program offering prize entries for regular attendees.

Local artisan and farm market: Wednesdays at Sardis Park in Chilliwack, this artisan and farm market features over 30 vendors selling sustainable local products, fresh produce, and handmade goods in a dog-friendly setting.

Watch artists create live artwork: Thursday, Aug. 21 from 5-8:30pm at Open Space Gallery, 33765 Essendene Ave. in Abbotsford, where four local artists will complete pieces in 3.5 hours for a raffle, tickets $15 including one raffle entry.

Have an event to tell us about? Fill out this form to have it highlighted here.

Catch up

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