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Kelowna
Drowsy drivers do have options
THOMPSON - OKANAGAN - July and August are peak months for driver fatigue-related incidents. While you may be bumper to bumper with everyone else rushing for the best beach spot, it’s important to recognize the signs of tired driving. “Living in Kamloops, I know how hot B.C. summers can get,” says B.C. Minister of Transportation...
Heading for the hills this weekend? Here are 11 ways to keep it safe
THOMPSON - OKANAGAN - If you're looking to dodge the tourists and get a more peaceful outing on your long weekend, a hike or a campout in the backcountry may be the best way of achieving a relaxing getaway. To keep it safe, members of the Central Okanagan Search and Rescue team have some tips...
Former Kelowna gangster busted in Red Deer
KELOWNA – The arrest of a known gang member from B.C. shows the Red Scorpions are moving into Alberta. Cory James Lesperance, 29, was arrested in Red Deer last week after a long investigation by RCMP and police from several jurisdictions. “The investigation focused on the Red Scorpions drug trafficking operation and their infiltration of...
Talks break down between City of Kelowna and CUPE
KELOWNA – There are no plans for job action just yet as talks between the City of Kelowna and its unionized workers have broken off. “After five days of mediation we were unable to come to agreement,” a Thursday posting on the CUPE Local 338 website says. “Talks were progressing but both sides were unable to...
STAHN: The view from up here
You may think I’m wrong to admit this, but I am actually really excited about this fire season. I have been since murmurs of another active season began. The opportunity to see our guys and gals in action, putting themselves in harms way to save our homes, the air tankers and helicopters constantly buzzing above:...
VIDEO: Band features Kelowna bookstore, model in latest music video
KELOWNA - Any booklover in Kelowna would know the first location in band PRTY H3RO’s latest music video is Ted’s Paperbacks on Sutherland Avenue. As for the man walking through the used bookstore, those who recognize him might remember his face from somewhere a little more posh. Justin Sterling is a model and can be...
A look at your long weekend weather, dry lightning expected
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN – Make sure to keep a watchful eye under those sunshades this weekend; despite sunny forecasts, B.C. Wildfire is expecting dry lightning to hit the area. “We’re heading into a period now where we’re seeing the potential for more naturally occurring wildfires to pop up, but with lightning tracking in the region it’s common...
VIDEO: Smith Creek fire from above and by the numbers
KELOWNA - Take a guess: How much water have fire crews dropped on the Smith Creek fire over the past week and a half? Would you believe more than 1.2 million litres? As of Monday morning helicopters had flown more than 100 hours, skimmers had dropped more than 300 loads of water and foam and...
Missing Kelowna teenager
KELOWNA – RCMP are asking for your help to find a missing teenager. Angeline Lepine, 14, of Kelowna was last seen on July 22. She is caucasian, about 5’ 5” and 120 lbs with a slender build, long brown hair and brown eyes. Anyone with information about Lepine or her whereabouts are asked to contact...
Meteor shower to peak early next week
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Grab a date, a blanket and a bottle of wine and prepare to spend a night gazing up at the sky during the peak of a month-long meteor shower early next week. The Delta Aquarids meteor shower runs annually from July 12 to Aug. 23 and this year the peak will occur in...
House on Knox Mountain is a model for wildfire prevention
KELOWNA – The city would like to see more houses just like the one at the top of Knox Mountain. The house, which is in a potential wildfire zone, is surrounded by a gravel perimeter, the roof is covered in fire retardant shingles and all the vents have been covered with mesh. The land around...
Mother Nature bringing the heat
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - This week brought stormy skies but next week will once again bring the heat as temperatures are set to soar into the mid-30s. “The good news is it’s over,” Environment Canada Meteorologist Doug Lundquist says of the heavy rains and thunderstorms that passed through this week. “And then the ridge builds next week...
Snow greets Ironman Triathletes in Whistler
WHISTLER - Residents and tourists woke to snow in Whistler Thursday morning after a cool, wet system moved through overnight. The snow came just in time for the Ironman Triathlon, which kicks off this weekend, though it will likely be gone before the athletes compete on Sunday. More rain and cool temperatures are expected through...
New weekend and more competition means COG not yet sold out
KELOWNA – One of Canada’s hottest beach festivals is back again this year, but Center of Gravity founder Scott Emslie says ticket sales are down compared with last year. “We sold out by May last year,” he says. “We’re 90 per cent sold out right now so tickets will be available at the gate.” The...
Intense storm dropped record rain at rapid rate
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Several rainfall records were broken Wednesday but a local meteorologist says it is the rate of the rainfall that is the big story. “A record rain doesn’t really tell the story, the real story is the speed which it came out of the clouds,” Doug Lundquist of Environment Canada says. “You can have...
UPDATE: Severe thunderstorm warnings end
UPDATE: A severe thunderstorm warning reissued for the Okanagan Valley has now ended. Twice today, Environment Canada has warned the storms could produce strong wind gusts, dime to nickel sized hail and heavy rain. All weather warnings have now ended for the South Thompson, Nicola, Shuswap and North Thompson regions that were under warnings earlier...
Campfire ban lifted in Clearwater area
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - If you want to have a fire while camping this weekend you may be fighting off the masses heading north to the Clearwater region thanks to the campfire ban being rescinded as of noon Wednesday for that fire zone. B.C. Wildfire is now allowing campfires in the area thanks to rain reducing the...
UPDATE: Heavy rains, thunderstorms in forecast
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - As much as 50 millimetres of rain could fall over the next two days as a low pressure system moving through southern B.C. is set to produce heavy showers and thunderstorms. Environment Canada issued a special weather statement this morning noting the potential for locally heavy rainfall of 25-50 mm with thunderstorms, which...
VIDEO: Balcony fire in Rutland
KELOWNA – No one was home when a fire broke out on the patio of an apartment on the corner of Mills Road and Highway 33 Tuesday afternoon. Platoon captain Eric Simpson says the fire started just after 4 p.m. in the second floor unit of 123 Mills Road. It originated on the patio and...
IN PHOTOS: A Dragon Boat Festival with real smoke and fire
KELOWNA – Despite a 400 hectare wildfire burning in West Kelowna, the 8th annual Kelowna Dragon Boat Festival went ahead as planned last weekend. The festival is made up of a series of races where teams of amateur rowers decorate boats and compete for the fastest time. Teams from B.C. and Alberta came together off...
Thompson-Okanagan drownings could have been prevented
THOMPSON OKANAGAN - A 14-year-old boy who died in a tubing accident in Vernon is one of 42 people across the province, and seven in the Thompson-Okanagan alone, whose lives were claimed in preventable drowning or water-related incidents over the past six and a half months. Miles Wohlford, 14, fell off his tube during an afternoon...
Police warn gangsters to avoid Kelowna this weekend
KELOWNA – With one of the city’s biggest festivals taking place in downtown Kelowna this weekend, local RCMP are once again issuing a public warning to gang members planning to take part. Sgt. Lindsey Houghton of the Combined Forces Special Enforcement Unit says every year gangs are drawn to the Okanagan, but they are not...
PHOTOS: Tattoo festival back for second year
KELOWNA – The Okanagan’s only tattoo culture and arts show was back in Kelowna over the weekend for the second year in a row. The Okanagan Tattoo Show is becoming an annual event drawing thousands of fans of body modification and tattoo culture to Parkinson Recreation Centre over the weekend. Aside from having some of...
Cooler, wet forecast could help Thompson-Okanagan fire crews
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A little help is in the forecast for fire crews this week as Mother Nature dials down the temperatures and throws in a little rain. While temperatures will be near normal (26-29 Celsius) across the region for the next two days we can also expect to see rain today with a 40 per...