Nanaimo news

• Cutting edge smoke -detection cameras installed at top of Mount Benson

  23-08-2026 23:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Cutting edge modern technology has stepped in to catch any wildfires spotted in the Nanaimo area before they can grow out of control.
  The forest company Mosaic Forest Management has installed new smoke-detection cameras on top of Mount Benson with 360-degree coverage and up to 50 kilometres of range to continuously scan the landscape, automatically zooming in when a potential smoke plume is detected.
  The cameras are the first of their kind on Vancouver Island, and will help identify the start of
  
  Read more

• THORPE REPORT: Records broken at elementary track meet

  23-08-2026 20:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Back on track this week, continuing our review of this year’s Nanaimo District Elementary Track and Field Championships with a look at top three results from boys’ competition in the three main age groupings.
  We’ll start with the tyke (born 2017-18) division, where Everett Small from Randerson Ridge was a double winner. Small raced to first place in both the 100m and 200m finals. Runner-up in both races was Jake Parks from North Oyster. Third in 100m was Heson Vuorela of &Eacut
  
  Read more

• Vancouver Island couple’s backyard railway tracks decades of history

  23-08-2026 17:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  While it has been 15 years since the last Vancouver Island train rolled along the E&N corridor, in a small pocket of Langford, the rail network is thriving.
  In the backyard of Lanny and Dianna Seaton’s Glen Lake home, a miniature train meanders through decades of West Shore and Sooke history, passing landmarks such as Langford City Hall, Goldstream Provincial Park and Goodridge Sawmill – a nod to the area’s logging past and Lanny’s father George, who worked as a logge
  
  Read more

• Little library turns Island street into a creative community exchange

  23-08-2026 16:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A little library on the 400 block of Nelson Street in Esquimalt is inviting the community to become more creative.
  The community-led art and zine library was created by Sonya Gracey one year ago and has since then acted as a creative hub for art lovers.Gracey was a registered nurse for 23 years, a two-term Victoria city councillor, and a current art therapist and registered clinical counsellor.
  Speaking to Victoria News, Gracey said the idea to create the art and zine library stemmed from her li
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Business Notes: Gina’s Mexican Cafe has a new menu

  23-08-2026 14:30 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Gina’s Mexican Cafe, which has been in operation in downtown Nanaimo for 40 years, has a new menu and logo.
  Owners Claudia and Gustavo are from Mexico City, and they want to introduce Nanaimo to some traditional Mexican dishes and margaritas from their homeland.
  They ensured their long-time customers that the restaurant, which is known as the iconic pink house on the hill at 47 Skinner Street, is still offering Gina’s long-time staples, like fajitas, burritos, tacos, chimichangas, an
  
  Read more

• Wildfire sparks in Kelowna’s Black Mountain

  23-08-2026 04:39 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  UPDATE 7:45 p.m.
  A wildfire the sparked in Kelowna’s Black Mountain area is now being held.The blaze is estimated at under one hectare in size and is not expected to grow.A lightening strike caused the wildfire.ORIGINAL
  A wildfire has started in the Black Mountain neighbourhood, on the east side of Kelowna, just south of Tower Ranch Drive.The fire started from a lightening strike and is estimated at less than one hectare in size.BC Wildfire Service reports the blaze to be rank one, meaning
  
  Read more

• BREAKING: Wildfire sparks in Kelowna’s Black Mountain

  23-08-2026 04:39 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A wildfire has started in the Black Mountain neighbourhood, on the east side of Kelowna, just south of Tower Ranch Drive.The fire started from a lightening strike and is estimated at less than one hectare in size.BC Wildfire Service reports the blaze to be rank one, meaning it is a smouldering ground fire and spreading slowly.Firefighters are actioning the blaze.
  
  Read more

• Fire on Beaufort Range near Port Alberni now being held by B.C. Wildfire crews

  23-08-2026 04:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Update: The McLean Main fire is now being held and is not expected to spread.
  In an update at 6 p.m. B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) officials said the wildfire is burning nine kilometres north of Port Alberni and is considered Rank 1 (smouldering ground fire) with some Rank 2 behaviour (low vigour surface fire).
  “Currently, this fire is burning in steep, inaccessible terrain,” a BCWS spokesperson noted.
  Ground crews are establishing control lines and aviation resources are providing su
  
  Read more

• Advertisement

• Multiple small wildfires spark between Tulameen and Coquihalla

  23-08-2026 03:10 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  A series of small wildfires have sparked east of the Coquihalla Highway and west of the community of Tulameen on Aug. 22.According to the BC Wildfire Service, four of the fires are only an estimated 0.3 hectares at the moment, with the one closest to Tulameen currently listed as 10 hectares in size.The causes of the fires are currently listed as under investigation, with one listed as being caused by lightning.Lightning also sparked a wildfire near Kamloops the same day, which has since grown to
  
  Read more

• Abbotsford-Mission MLA to step down, making way for new Conservative leader to seek seat

  23-08-2026 02:37 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Reann Gasper will step down as Abbotsford-Mission MLA, making way for Conservative Party leader Kerry-Lynne Findlay to run for the seat in a byelection.
  The Conservative Party announced Gasper’s resignation and Findlay’s intention to run for the seat in a news release on Saturday (Aug. 22)
  Gasper, who has also been serving as the party’s deputy whip since October 2025, said the decision came after careful consideration.
  “I believe it is the right decision for me, for our
  
  Read more

• Nanaimo food bank to open free food market at Vancouver Island University

  23-08-2026 00:00 via nanaimobulletin.com
  
  Students and community members battling food insecurity will have access to a market at Vancouver Island University’s Nanaimo campus beginning next week.
  In a press release, Loaves and Fishes Community Food Bank, a non-profit servicing communities across the Island, said it will open its 12th free food market at VIU’s trades centre building (Building 108) off Wakesiah Avenue in Nanaimo, on Monday, Aug. 24. It will then be open every Monday from 5-7 p.m.
  Unlike the standard food bank
  
  Read more

Follow @news_nanaimo on Twitter!