Nanaimo news

• VicPD warns public of non-emergency number being spoofed in alleged scams

  01-08-2026 21:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The Victoria Police Department (VicPD) is alerting residents that their non-emergency number is being displayed on alleged scam calls across Canada.
  VicPD said they will never call people requesting banking information, passwords, pins or payment.
  The department added that the scammers can manipulate caller IDs to make it look like the call is coming from a legitimate phone number. Seeing VicPD’s non-emergency number on the screen does not necessarily mean the call is from VicPD.
  If you re
  
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• Evacuation orders issued for Riley Creek fire south of Lillooet

  01-08-2026 20:34 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Two properties in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) are now on evacuation order due to the Riley Creek wildfire, while 14 properties along Lytton-Lillooet Highway 12 and Kirbys Flat Road are now on evacuation alert.
  The Riley Creek wildfire, which is burning out of control nine kilometres south of Lillooet, was discovered on June 24, and is currently estimated at 1,150 hectares. BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) says that the fire was caused by lightning.
  The two properties on evacuation ord
  
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• ‘We need help’: Letter, petition, MLA call on Eby to declare state of emergency due to Cariboo fires

  01-08-2026 20:33 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A letter and petition, along with the BC Conservatives, are calling on Premier David Eby to declare a state of emergency in the face of massive wildfires burning in the Southern Interior.The letter template has been shared in multiple Cariboo Facebook groups, with individuals chiming in both for and against the proposal, and some saying they have sent the letter to the government.“I am writing as a gravely concerned resident of the Cariboo and as one of many people who are increasingly fri
  
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• Guichon Creek fire near Logan Lake holding at 145 hectares

  01-08-2026 20:03 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The Guichon Creek wildfire (K21320) near Logan Lake is holding at an estimated 145 hectares as of Saturday morning (Aug. 1).
  The fire, which was discovered on July 29, is burning west of Logan Lake and is suspected to have been human-caused.
  The District of Logan Lake has issued an evacuation alert covering 49 properties in the Acreages, while the Thompson-Nicola Regional District has issued an evacuation alert for seven properties along Tunkwa Lake Road.
  On July 31, an update from Logan Lake Fi
  
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• LETTER TO THE EDITOR: Nanaimo is a lovely community

  01-08-2026 20:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  To the editor,
  What a lovely community Nanaimo is!
  My wife and adult children planned our first family vacation in several years. All of it on Vancouver Island, with Nanaimo being our first stop. Honestly I’d never heard of it. Now I can’t wait to return. It’s stunningly beautiful, with friendly people (other than the grouchy girls with a grouchier dog on Saysutshun) and an authentic outdoorsy vibe.
  We had delicious meals. We experienced your fantastic farmers market. We played
  
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• UPDATE: Wildfire near Westside Road grows to 200 hectares, evacuation alerts expanded

  01-08-2026 19:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  UPDATE: 10:32 a.m.
  The Bradley Creek wildfire burning north of Westside Road near Vernon has now grown to 200 hectares.The blaze was discovered on Friday, July 31, and has quickly jumped to its current size in less than 24 hours.“Fire growth and size for this incident is predominately attributed to the grassy fuel type which burns fast and makes for a quicker rate of spread,” said BCWS.
  The fire is burning out of control and is suspected to be human caused.The Okanagan Indian Band (O
  
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• Extreme fire behaviour expected as Pear Lake wildfire grows to 90,475 hectares

  01-08-2026 19:22 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Extreme fire behaviour is expected in the Big Bar complex of fires on Saturday (Aug. 1), with a cold front passing over the Southern Interior and Cariboo regions bringing wind gusts of up to 40-45 km/hr or higher.
  As of Saturday morning, the Pear Lake wildfire near Clinton was estimated at 90,475 hectares. The Rim Lake wildfire to the east was estimated at 4,338 hectares, and the French Bar Creek wildfire to the west was estimated at 29,923 hectares.
  “The weather systems driving this cold
  
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• Extreme fire behaviour expected as Pear Lake wildfire grows to 103,921 hectares

  01-08-2026 19:22 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Extreme fire behaviour is expected in the Big Bar complex of fires on Saturday (Aug. 1), with a cold front passing over the Southern Interior and Cariboo regions bringing wind gusts of up to 40-45 km/hr or higher.
  As of Saturday morning, the Pear Lake wildfire near Clinton was estimated at 103,921 hectares. The Rim Lake wildfire to the east was estimated at 4,338 hectares, and the French Bar Creek wildfire to the west was estimated at 29,993 hectares.
  “The weather systems driving this cold
  
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• Felker Lake wildfire remains out of control in South Cariboo

  01-08-2026 19:03 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The Felker wildfire south of Williams Lake sits at 4,217 hectares as of Saturday, Aug. 1.​BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) continues to respond to the blaze with ground crews, local contract crews, heavy equipment operators, fire departments and aviation resources.
  ​It includes 144 firefighters, an incident management team, nine helicopters, 25 pieces of heavy equipment and 16 structure protection personnel.
  ​BCWS said objectives are responder and public safety, and the protection of
  
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• UPDATE: Wildfire near Westside Road grows to 100 hectares, evacuation alerts in place

  01-08-2026 17:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  UPDATE: AUG 1, 8:04 a.m.
  The Wildfire burning off Westside Road near Vernon has grown overnight and is now approximately 100 hectares, according to BC Wildfire Service (BCWS).Discovered Friday night on July 31, the fire is burning near the Okanagan Indian Band.The Okanagan Indian Band issued an evacuation alert earlier in the day for a number of properties along Bonneau Road, Pebble Park Lane, Louis Road, properties along any roads north of Westside Road between Bonneau and Komasket Road.The ale
  
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• UPDATE: Wildfire near Westside Road grows to 100 hectares, evacuation alerts expanded

  01-08-2026 17:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  UPDATE 9:09 a.m.
  The Okanagan Indian Band, in recommendation of BC Wildfire Service, has expanded its evacuation alert.
  The extension of affected properties includes the following areas: West of Six Mile Road, North of Westside Road to Mary Emeralds Bay Road. It also includes and is not limited to Royal Road, Marchand Road, Pebble Park Lane, Louis Road and all other properties that access off Westside Road within the mapped area.
  This includes the following properties:
  Properties along Bonneau R
  
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• Poet Zoe Dickinson explores Pacific coast through verse

  01-08-2026 16:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  For almost 20 years, the Denman Island Readers and Writers Festival has gathered Canadian authors and bibliophiles, and this year they invited Vancouver Island’s Zoe Dickinson to share her poetry that’s rooted in the local land-and-seascapes.
  Dickinson writes bioregional poetry, a genre grounded in philosophy and ecology. Her work, inspired by the familiar Pacific coast geography, asks readers to remain curious about the place they call home, inviting them to see it anew.
  “I&rs
  
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• UPDATE: Evacuation alerts issued after 10-hectare wildfire sparks off Westside Road near Vernon

  01-08-2026 15:32 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  UPDATE: SATURDAY, AUG. 1, 6:42 A.M.:
  The Okanagan Indian Band’s Emergency Operations Centre, based on BC Wildfire Service recommendation has issued an Evacuation Alert for the following properties:
  * Properties along Bonneau Road
  * Properties along Pebble Park Lane
  * Properties along Louis Road
  * Properties along any roads north of Westside Road between Bonneau Road and Komasket Road
  * 11454 Westside Road
  * 11450 Westside Road
  * 11452 Westside Road
  * 11458 Westside Road
  * 11486 Westside Ro
  
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• UPDATE: 10-hectare wildfire sparks off Westside Road near Vernon

  01-08-2026 15:32 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  UPDATE: SATURDAY, AUG. 1, 6:07 A.M.:
  The Okanagan Indian Band (OKIB) and BC Wildfire Services (BCWS)crews are battling a wildfire off Westside Road.
  The Bradley Creek Fire (K41351) broke out Friday evening, July 31, and is listed Saturday, Aug. 1, as 10 hectares in size and classified as under control on the BCWS website.
  Out of control is defined as a a wildfire spreading or anticipated to spread beyond the current perimeter or control line.
  OKIB has been providing updates to its members on soc
  
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• Over a thousand invasive Canada geese eggs addled last year in RDN

  01-08-2026 14:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Over a thousand eggs containing invasive Canada geese have been addled throughout the Regional District of Nanaimo last year.
  The numbers come from a September 2025 report created by Guardians of our Salish Estuaries, a science-based, non-profit conservation organization dedicated to healthy, productive estuaries.
  The group told the regional district during a meeting on July 21, that from the Greater Victoria area north to Fanny Bay, a total of 1,221 eggs had been addled from 222 nests found dur
  
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• COLUMN: Watch out for deer on the roadways

  01-08-2026 14:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  I struck a deer many years ago while driving along Hammond Bay Road.
  The Columbian black-tailed deer, the type that primarily populates Nanaimo, jumped out of the bushes by the side of road and landed right in front of my car.
  I instinctively swerved away from it, but still caught the deer right on its rump.
  I’m writing this after reading a report from fellow Black Press writer Nishadini Fonseka, who works for Victoria News, in which she reminds Vancouver Island residents that we’re
  
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• COLUMN: Keeping energy affordable takes focus—and commitment

  01-08-2026 14:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  For most British Columbians, energy affordability isn’t that hard to define―it’s being able to pay your energy bill without having to compromise on other necessities. But delivering that outcome reliably, safely and over the long term is anything but simple.
  At a time when many families and businesses are feeling stretched, we know even modest bill increases can have real consequences at the kitchen table and on the bottom line.
  At FortisBC, affordability is not a standalone in
  
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• City of Duncan says Crime Severity Index ranking doesn’t tell whole story

  01-08-2026 14:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Statistics Canada has ranked Duncan as having the highest Crime Severity Index in British Columbia in their 2025 Crime Severity Index (CSI) report, but the City of Duncan said the numbers don’t tell the whole story.
  While traditional crime rates count the number of reported incidents, the CSI measures both the volume and seriousness of police-reported crime by assigning different weights to offences based on sentencing data. This weighted total is then divided by resident population.
  While
  
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• Clinton man helps feed firefighters, witnesses fire 

  01-08-2026 14:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  When the Pear Lake fire reached Clinton on Friday, July 24, Tim Green was one of the handful of residents who stayed behind.A recent Langley transplant, Green moved to Clinton in June after falling in love with the village. A heavy equipment operator and former cook by trade, he said he was looking for a quiet life for him and his wife and Clinton fit the bill.“This is the kind of lifestyle (me and my wife) want. Nice, peaceful, quiet,” Green said. “The people in Clinton have b
  
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• 10-hectare wildfire sparks off Westside Road near Vernon

  01-08-2026 10:18 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A 10-hectare wildfire is burning north of Westside Road in the Bradley Creek area.
  The blaze was first reported on July 31, however, the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) updated information regarding the incident at 2 a.m. Aug. 1.
  The out-of-control wildfire is expected to spread beyond the current perimeter and is believed to be human-caused.
  On Friday, BCWS warned that weather conditions over the long weekend could increase the hazard of wildfires and lead to challenging conditions for those fightin
  
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• Changing weather conditions could mean challenging weekend on fire front

  01-08-2026 02:45 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) is warning that weather conditions over the long weekend could increase the hazard of wildfires and leading to challenging conditions for those fighting them.
  A cold front is forecast to move across much of British Columbia this weekend, bringing thunderstorms and strong, gusty winds. By the time this activity reaches the Southern Interior, it will come with little or no rainfall.
  Due to hot and dry conditions and continued drought, fuels are increasingly susceptib
  
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• Changing weather conditions could make for challenging weekend on fire front

  01-08-2026 02:45 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) is warning that weather conditions over the long weekend could increase the hazard of wildfires and leading to challenging conditions for those fighting them.
  A cold front is forecast to move across much of British Columbia this weekend, bringing thunderstorms and strong, gusty winds. By the time this activity reaches the Southern Interior, it will come with little or no rainfall.
  Due to hot and dry conditions and continued drought, fuels are increasingly susceptib
  
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• B.C. Conservative leader talks future plans, but first needs a seat in the legislature

  01-08-2026 02:32 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  It’s been two months since Kerry-Lynne Findlay was elected as the newest leader of the Conservative Party of B.C. with the ultimate goal of one day becoming premier.
  Before becoming premier Findlay has her sights set on a more immediate goal: a seat in the legislature.
  “Being a trial lawyer by background, I would love to get into the debate on the floor of the legislature. I would love to be across the aisle from Premier (David) Eby, and it is my intention to lead my team in that deb
  
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• Vancouver Canucks lend Fin, er, hand at OKIB Hockey School in Vernon

  01-08-2026 01:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  The Vancouver Canucks of the National Hockey League (NHL) have plenty of fans among elders and members of the Okanagan Indian Band.
  Chief Dan Wilson tells the story of visiting his grandmother Sophie Wilson’s home when a Canucks game was on TV, and he’d get shushed by grandma if he had the audacity to chat with her while the game was on.
  “Had to wait for the commercial,” laughed Wilson. “If I talked to her during the game, I’d get scolded.”
  OKIB staffer
  
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