Elevate your local knowledge
Sign up for the iNFOnews newsletter today!
Vernon
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...
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this weekend you may be fighting off the masses heading north to the Clearwater region thanks to the campfire ban being rescinded as of noon Wednesday for that fire zone.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...
Coroner identifies three people in traffic accident near Duck Lake
KELOWNA - Three people who died in a Hwy 97 traffic accident near Duck Lake have been identified by the B.C. Coroners Service. They were Harold Reinhardt Miller, 82 and his wife Violet Juline Miller, 79, both from Vernon and their great-grandson, Thomas Rhys Edward Davies, 14, from Victoria. Mr. Miller was driving the car...
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...
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...
Authorities investigate another suspicious fire, this time at Middleton Mountain
VERNON - Another suspicious fire in Vernon, this time in fruit shipping containers, has investigators combing through the rubble. The Vernon Fire Department was called out to the 1200 block of Waddington Drive on Middleton Mountain Monday about 11:30 p.m. Tall flames and smoke could be seen from other parts of the city. Numerous wooden...
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...
How an Italian woman in a rental car got to meet Vernon RCMP
VERNON - A tourist got herself in some trouble Sunday night in Vernon when she failed to yield to an oncoming vehicle. The Italian woman was driving a rented Kia car in the area of 27 Street and 53 Avenue around 10 p.m. She didn’t notice a Chevy Tracker in the roadway in front of...
Thank-you cards left on police cruisers = day made
VERNON - The hearts of several Vernon cops were warmed earlier this month when they found anonymous thank-you cards tucked on the front windshields of their cruisers. “You know who you are, but we don’t,” RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says of the mystery author. It was July 11 and 12 when officers found the thank-you...
Local bee keeper stung by recent theft
VERNON - Thieves made off with a sweet score last week in Coldstream — bee hives. The bee-keeper notified police July 18 that five of his beehives had been stolen from the 7900 block of McClounie Road. Each hive weighed between 100-300 pounds and were worth at least $3,000 altogether. Long term, the hives would...
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...
Support for firefighters heats up on social media
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Firefighters have been working hard to battle blazes across the province. Many residents have taken the time to thank the B.C. Forest Service and municipal fire crews for fighting day and night. Below are some helpful lines of support and thank you's from the public. Did you know? B.C. Wildfire has a specific...
Fires rage across province
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Firefighting resources are being juggled and reassigned as British Columbia's Wildfire Management Branch handles several blazes, including one that forced about 2,500 people from their homes. The Smith Creek fire near West Kelowna raged to an estimated 400 hectares by Friday morning, only a day after an evacuation order was issued for the...
Evacuation information: What you need to know
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - During fire season, it’s always best to keep an emergency plan in place in case you are under evacuation alert. An alert doesn’t mean you have to leave your home right away, but it’s time to get personal items at the ready in case the alert becomes an evacuation order. DURING AN EVACUATION...
Teen arrested for arson in connection with townhouse fire
VERNON - A teenager has been arrested for arson in connection with a townhouse fire that sent residents fleeing the building. RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says a 19-year-old man residing in the 44 Street townhouse will appear in court Friday on charges of arson with disregard for human life. Fire officials said the blaze erupted...
UPDATE: Aggressive Murray Lake fire partially contained
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - An aggressive fire south of Merritt near Murray Lake is now 30 per cent contained, though an evacuation order for all properties adjacent to the lake remains. The Thompson Nicola Regional District issued the state of emergency and evacuation order around 9 p.m. Wednesday due to the potential threat. The evacuation order covers...
Vernon mayor leaving the job to ‘someone a bit younger’
VERNON - A Vernon mayor praised for building relationships between local governments feels he’s finished what he started and is letting a younger person take the reigns. Rob Sawatzky, 62, has announced he won’t be seeking re-election this fall. He says he’s getting too old for the demands of the job and plans to spend...
Residents flee from burning townhouse
VERNON - Fire sent the residents of a Vernon townhouse running Thursday morning. The fire, which started around 7:30 a.m. in the second floor bedroom of a 44 Street townhouse, is considered suspicious. "We are looking into the possibility there was a disagreement betwen the residents," RCMP spokesperson Gord Molendyk says, adding the occupants were...
More weather records fall, rain finally in forecast
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - While most of the Interior saw temperatures soar above the mid-30s Wednesday only a few communities actually saw old records broken. Penticton, Osoyoos and Clinton all set new records for July 16 but Osoyoos saw the biggest jump with a temperature of 39.6 Celsius, up nearly three degrees from the previous record set...
VIDEO: What an Okanagan Rail Trail could look like
VERNON - A new video showcases the merits of converting the rail bed between Vernon and Kelowna into a multi-purpose trail. The 50 km stretch runs along Kalamalka Lake, Wood Lake and Duck Lake and past 22 parks. Canadian National has begun the process of selling off the line, whose former operator Kelowna Pacific Railway...
Smoky skies advisory for Interior
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Fires to the north of us are causing smoky conditions and the Ministry of Environment is now warning people to take additional precautions because of the smoke. A smoky skies advisory was issued today for the Thompson, Shuswap, Okanagan, Similkameen, Nicola, Boundary and Fraser Canyon areas. Similar advisories have also been issued for...
Fires becoming more aggressive
THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - There have been more than 25 wildfires in the Kamloops Fire Centre in the past two days but most of the smoke in the air is coming from the more than 36,000 hectares burning in northern B.C. Just yesterday crews battled fires at Apex Mountain in Penticton, Mt. Boucherie in West Kelowna and...