Penticton news

Celebrate Canada’s birthday in downtown Kelowna

KELOWNA – Canada turns 148 years old on Wednesday, July 1, and to celebrate Festivals Kelowna has put together more than 50 fun activities and performances for the whole family. The annual Celebrate Canada Day takes place in Waterfront Park, Jim Stuart Park and Kerry Park as well as Prospera Place. Last year more than...

UPDATE: Severe thunderstorm watch issued for Southern Interior

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – We could see severe thunderstorms develop in the Thompson-Okanagan region this afternoon and evening. Environment Canada issued a severe thunderstorm watch this morning covering the South and North Thompson, Nicola, Shuswap and Okanagan regions and upgraded it to a warning for parts of the South Thompson, Nicola and Okanagan regions for a short...

Weekend of fires fuelled by lightning

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – There were 35 fire starts this weekend in the Kamloops Fire Centre alone. Of those, 22 were caused by lightning, but the remaining 13 were believed to be human-caused. Penticton was the hottest fire zone in the region with 19 of the 35 starts this weekend, but Fire Information Officer Kelsey Winter says...

Search continues for man missing in Osoyoos Lake

PENTICTON - Search and Rescue volunteers and the RCMP dive team have joined the search for a missing man in Osoyoos Lake today. The 34-year-old man from West Vancouver went missing after falling of a personal watercraft into the lake around 6 p.m., Sunday, June 28, according to a RCMP media release. Police say the missing...

Intel purchase of Yaletown tech firm comes with a Penticton connection

PENTICTON - A leading edge, high-tech Vancouver company’s recent sale to computer chip giant Intel is a success story with a Penticton connection. Recon Instruments, a Yaletown based company which is an industry leader in heads up display technology, made business headlines earlier this month with the announcement the company had been acquired by computer...

Family pet succumbs to snake bite

CAWSTON, B.C. - A Cawston couple are extending a note caution to rural residents and those walking their dogs in the wild after a rattlesnake killed the family dog in their yard on the weekend. Sally Taylor let the family dog Pickles out into the front yard Saturday morning, June 27. The dog returned bleeding...

Penticton helicopter team called to multiple rescues around Okanagan Sunday

PENTICTON - A week-long search in the South Okanagan ended on a positive note Sunday, but Penticton Search and Rescue crews were quickly put to work helping with emergencies in other parts of the region. Search and rescue spokesperson Randy Brown says the search for two lost Ontario hikers had no sooner ended in the...

Record heat in the Okanagan

OKANAGAN - Several Okanagan cities were among the 30 communities to set a new high temperature record in the province on Sunday. With a high of 39.3 C on Sunday, June 28, Vernon was one of the hottest Okanagan communities, surpassing a former high temperature record of 35.4 C. With a high of 38.7 C...

Scorching heat sizzles high temperature records

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – The heat wave blasting the Southern Interior cranked the temperature up a notch Saturday breaking high temperature records in the Thompson-Okanagan. Canada’s hot spot June 27 was Osoyoos where the mercury climbed to 40.9 Celsius, snapping the old high temperature record of 37.7 C recorded on the same day in 2000. Kamloops hit...

Heat wave continues though not as hot has originally forecast

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – While it will still be hot this weekend, it won’t be has hot as first forecast by Environment Canada. The Special Weather Statement issued on Thursday, June 25, for the South and North Thompson, Nicola, Shuswap and Okanagan warning of temperatures as high at 40 Celsius has been ended. Meteorologists are still forecasting...

UPDATE: Semi fire on Coquihalla Highway

MERRITT – A semi burst into flames on the Coquihalla Highway this afternoon, severely restricting traffic for several hours. VSA Highway Maintenance says the route was fully reopened as of 4:30 p.m, June 28. The fire, about 1 kilometre north of the Great Bear snowshed, had forced the closure of one lane. No word on...

Weekend weather made to order for classic cars and the King of Rock and Roll

PENTICTON - Visitors to Penticton might have found themselves thinking about "the good old days" this weekend. Between the Penticton Pacific Northwest Elvis Festival and the Peach City Beach Cruise with it’s classic cars, the 1950s, 60s, or 70s didn’t seem far in the past. Hundreds of antique, classic and specialty cars and trucks graced...

Wildfire crews hopping with 16 new fires on weekend

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Almost half of the 16 new wildfires sparked in the Thompson-Okanagan region over the weekend were preventable because people caused them. Kelsey Winter with B.C. Wildfire Management says seven of the fires crews have either put out, or are currently working to put out, have been listed as human caused. The rest of...

Magic of Enchanted Forest put new owner under its spell

REVELSTOKE - The Enchanted Forest had its new owners spellbound from the first time they saw the woodland wonderland many years ago. The roadside amusement park located between Sicamous and Revelstoke on the Trans Canada Highway has, for the fifth time in its 55 years, changed hands, but longtime visitors need not fear any drastic changes;...