Monday, August 21, 2023 edition - Kookipi fire latest

Monday, August 21, 2023 | ☀️ High 26C

Good morning!

It’s been a tough week for folks in the Fraser Canyon, but thankfully damage seems to be limited thus far. Today could be difficult, though, with winds expected to kick up and blow from the south to north. Our story below includes a bunch of links to monitor the situation. Please stay safe everyone.

During weeks like this, it’s worth thinking about what fire crews are going through. It’s easy to see aerial units, but the work on the ground is intensely dirty, hard, and important. There’s a reason why, despite our wildfires, structure losses are relatively rare and so notable. Just like nurses and the care staff that were so critical during the pandemic, we really don’t want to realize too late that we have undervalued those folks. It’s extremely worrying to read that many wildfire fighters feel underappreciated and burnt out. We’ll need to give them more than our thanks in the years to come.

On another note, if you tried paying for a membership with PayPal (you can do so here) and couldn’t get the student & seniors code to work, that was my fault. I gave you the wrong code. The correct one is SS75. Sorry!

WORTH KNOWING

🌤 Local forecast: Langley | Chilliwack | Abbotsford | Hope

⚠️ Here’s the current smoke forecast / Check the BC Wildfire Dashboard here

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

NEWS

Fire comes to the canyon

On Friday, a firestorm swept out of the Nahatlatch Valley and into the Fraser Canyon north of Boston Bar. The blaze grew to immense size in a day, creating a plume that could be seen all the way in Abbotsford and, forcing the evacuation of two First Nations and putting both Lytton and Boston Bar on alert.

• Tyler reports on the latest on the Kookipi Creek fire, its risk to neighbouring communities, the status of Highway 1, and the upcoming weather.

• The latest evacuation alerts and information from the Fraser Valley Regional District can be found here.

Need to know

🚓 A man was shot to death in Hope Sunday; a suspect is in jail [Global]

🔥 Lytton’s former mayor says residents are on edge as new wildfires threaten the town [Vancouver Sun]

🌲 Here’s a pre-fire look at the Nahatlatch forest lookout that burned on Friday [YouTube/The Back Country Explorers]

🚒 Langley firefighters have travelled to Kelowna to help out [Langley Advance Times]

😤 Air quality advisories are in place because of the smoke [CTV] / A map of the current air quality levels can be found here; the Eastern Fraser Valley was “10+” Sunday [Metro Vancouver]

💦 The City of Chilliwack has issued one fine after receiving more than 137 watering complaints [Chilliwack Progress]

🚑 Five people were hospitalized after a crash on Highway 1 in Hope Friday [Hope Standard]

🔥 Crews quickly extinguished a small wildfire near Popkum Friday [Agassiz-Harrison Observer]

🌲 Dozens of cats and dogs were rescued from a shed and van in Langley Wednesday [Langley Advance Times]

🥽 The YMCA in Chilliwack says it has hired a dozen lifeguards and will be able to open the pool for longer [Fraser Valley Today]

👉 An Abbotsford organization has received $250,000 to restore a 145-year-old home [Abbotsford News]

🚨 A Langley man was killed when he was struck by a vehicle early Saturday [Langley Advance Times]

🚒 Fire officials say you shouldn’t call 9-1-1 just because it’s smoky out [Fraser Valley Today]

🏠 With affordability in the Fraser Valley under ongoing pressure, Abbotsford Tech District will mean affordable housing, high-quality education, and well-paying jobs close to home.*

*Sponsored Listing

The Agenda

Mission set to miss affordable housing target

Mission needs more than 500 new affordable rental units to be built in the next 16 months if it hopes to achieve a target set in 2020.

Three years ago, the municipality completed a “Housing Needs Assessment” that determined that 750 new rental units would be needed by the end of 2024. But since the assessment was complete, only 178 such homes have been built, according to a report that will be delivered to council tomorrow.

Of the 178 homes, almost half are in a single Second Avenue building approved in 2022.

In their report, staff write that they don’t expect to start on any new rental units through the end of the month. Staff also write that there is a particular need to help woman escaping family violence, with 674 women and 374 children turned away from transition homes just last year. The 2020 assessment declared 100 units were needed. No such homes have been built yet, but Mission staff say they expect “40 to 60” homes to be built, with completion expected in late 2025.

Want to promote your business to 30,000+ engaged locals?

Contact our partnerships team today

Have a tip? Email us