Nanaimo news

• LETTER TO THE EDITOR: From Wildfires to Viruses

  25-07-2026 20:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  To the editor,
  Recent devastating wildfire seasons across British Columbia highlight a reality we can no longer ignore: emergencies do not wait until we are ready.
  The same lesson applies to health tracking. COVID-19 showed how quickly an unforeseen crisis can overwhelm provincial healthcare systems, disrupt communities, and create staggering economic costs. Nationally, Canada spent more than $624 billion responding to the pandemic. This far outstrips the cost of proactive preparation.
  The feder
  
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• Clinton ‘preserved from major loss’ as Pear Lake fire grows overnight

  25-07-2026 19:56 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The Village of Clinton has been “preserved from major loss” even as the Pear Lake wildfire around the town grew overnight.
  Clinton CAO Brian Doddridge posted a notice just after 10:30 a.m. on Saturday (July 25) thanking the Clinton Fire Department, BC Wildfire Service (BCWS), and the many other responding departments for their “hard fight” overnight on July 24/25.
  “As of this morning [Saturday] Clinton has been preserved from major loss,” he wrote, while notin
  
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• Survey finds North Cowichan residents happy with quality of life

  25-07-2026 14:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  North Cowichan continues to earn high marks from people who call it home.More than eight in 10 North Cowichan residents say they’re happy with life in the municipality, according to the results of a new Citizen Satisfaction Survey.The survey, conducted this spring, found that 84 per cent of respondents rated the overall quality of life in North Cowichan as either good or very good. An equally strong majority — 85 per cent — said they were satisfied with the overall quality of m
  
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• COLUMN: Silly Boat Regatta a great laugh for the whole family

  25-07-2026 14:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  If you haven’t ever experienced Nanaimo’s iconic Silly Boat Regatta before, you should make a note in your calendar for next year.
  The park is typically full of people who gather for the annual regatta, which marked its 40th anniversary this year.
  More than 20 years ago, my late and great managing editor Peter Godfrey convinced me to assemble a group of volunteers from the office and form a team.
  I didn’t have much skill in boat building (or building pretty much anything else f
  
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• Adaptive equipment at Saanich lake puts wheelchair users at the helm

  25-07-2026 14:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The Capital Regional District expects to officially launch its latest accessibility upgrade at Elk Lake in Saanich just in time for the heat of summer to hit.A seated transfer bench and partially submerged launch area adjacent to the Brookleigh boat launch supports safe, stable entry for wheelchair users. The adaptive gear is set to officially launch with an instructive video set to appear on social media and the CRD site on July 28, the parks committee heard during its July 22 meeting.
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• VIDEO: Sun, sweat and smiles fill the Kelowna 2026 B.C. Summer Games

  25-07-2026 04:14 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Kelowna is crowded with people from across the province as B.C.’s youth compete in the 2026 B.C. Summer Games.Running from July 22-26, over 3,000 athletes, coaches and officials are in the city to compete in 19 different sports.
  What a day of competition! The #Kelowna 2026 B.C. Summer Games are running all weekend. Check out some of the action! @KelownaCapNews @BlackPressMedia pic.twitter.com/ANmSFNfa5S
  — Brittany Webster (@thebrittwebster) July 25, 2026The games see the province spl
  
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• Highway 97 closed at Clinton as Fiftynine Creek fire prompts more evacuation orders

  25-07-2026 03:36 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  More evacuation orders — including another affecting Highway 97, which is closed to all traffic around Clinton — have been issued in connection with the Big Bar complex north and west of Clinton.
  The Fiftynine Creek wildfire has prompted more evacuation orders and alerts from the Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) and Stswecem’c Xget’tem First Nation (Canoe Creek Band). The fire, currently estimated at 16,724 hectares, has been burning northwest of Clinton since Jul
  
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• Man arrested, charged with 2nd-degree murder following West Kootenay homicide: Creston RCMP

  25-07-2026 02:05 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Police in Creston have arrested a man on charges of second-degree murder after another man was found dead in town Thursday, July 23.
  Creston RCMP shared Friday afternoon, July 24, that officers found a man unresponsive around Canyon Street and 12th Avenue around 2 a.m. Thursday.
  The man was pronounced dead at the scene, with the circumstances of his death deemed suspicious, according to Creston RCMP.
  The BC RCMP’s Southeast District Major Crime Unit conducted an investigation and identifie
  
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• Headline history: 31 years ago, School District 68 assumed it’s current name

  25-07-2026 01:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Thirty-one years ago, School District 68 (Nanaimo-Ladysmith) assumed its current name.
  Featured in the July 24, 1995 edition of the News Bulletin, earlier that month an order was given to add “Ladysmith” to the name, to “reflect the two municipalities which are within” the boundaries.Then-board chairman Gerry Montgomery said that the board had requested the provincial government change its name after public meetings were held and surveys were sent. Montgomery added that t
  
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• B.C. allowing Tilbury gas terminal expansion to circumvent Utilities Commission

  25-07-2026 01:10 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  B.C.’s energy minister signed an order on Friday to allow the $2-billion expansion of a natural gas refuelling terminal in Delta to go ahead without the normal approvals from the B.C. Utilities Commission.
  The move, executed through a cabinet order, will exempt FortisBC’s Tilbury Liquefied Natural Gas facility from needing a B.C. Utilities Commission Certificate of Public Convenience and Necessity for its Phase 1B expansion.This certificate process is meant to allow the Utilities Com
  
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• Canoe races, soccer and health and wellness a focus of Snuneymuxw Days in Nanaimo

  25-07-2026 00:35 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Health and wellness will be the focus of Snuneymuxw First Nation’s three-day celebration of land, water and community this weekend.
  Snuneymuxw Days begins Friday, July 24 and goes until Sunday, July 26. A popular draw is the canoe races, described in a press release by Chief Mike Wyse as integral to Snuneymuxw culture since early days.
  Paddlers from the United States (Washington state) are expected to take part, as well as from Snuneymuxw’s Island Brave Canoe Club, who have captured
  
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• Fire in Duncan that displaced 16 one of two suspicious blazes

  25-07-2026 00:33 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  About 16 people have been displaced from their homes following what North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP are calling a suspicious fire in Duncan on Wednesday, July 22 that damaged three buildings.Firefighters were called to a blaze in a carport on Festubert Street at about 9:15 a.m. and Duncan Deputy Fire Chief Chris Irving said three cars in the garage were already on fire when they arrived.“It rapidly grew and spread to the buildings on either side,” he said.Those buildings are an apartment
  
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• Fire in Duncan that displaced 15 one of two suspicious blazes

  25-07-2026 00:33 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  About 16 people have been displaced from their homes following what North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP are calling a suspicious fire in Duncan on Wednesday, July 22 that damaged three buildings.Firefighters were called to a blaze in a carport on Festubert Street at about 9:15 a.m. and Duncan Deputy Fire Chief Chris Irving said three cars in the garage were already on fire when they arrived.“It rapidly grew and spread to the buildings on either side,” he said.Those buildings are an apartment
  
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