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Penticton news

Bird book inspired by UBCO’s bio-diversity

KELOWNA - If you’re looking for hot chicks, look no further than the Birds of the UBC Okanagan Campus 2016 calendar. Produced by biologists, the annual calendar features some of the birds that can be found on the school’s campus. Photographers this year ranged across the entire 209 hectares of campus grounds and includes bluebirds,...

Okanagan First Nations develop new business with sustainable sockeye initiative

PENTICTON - Years of hard work and dedication by the Okanagan Nation Alliance to re-establish the Okanagan sockeye has resulted in a new and emerging interior fishery, as well as a new business opportunity for local First Nations. The Alliance reintroduced sockeye fry into Skaha Lake in 2003, entering into cooperative water sharing agreements with...

Structure fire at Oliver business

PENTICTON - Oliver has been rocked by another major fire, this time a structure fire to a business. Following two major wildfires near the town last Friday, August 14, the Oliver Fire Department is fighting another fire this afternoon. Members of the Oliver Volunteer Fire Department have been fighting a blaze that broke out at...

Rafting accident claims life of Kelowna man ahead of wedding

KELOWNA – Less than a month before he was set to be married, a young Kelowna man has drowned while white-water rafting near Golden over the weekend. Rene Bourgault was rafting with three other people in Kicking Horse River Sunday, Aug. 16 when the group was thrown into the water roughly ten kilometres east of...

The danger of drones in wildfire zones

PENTICTON - One of the members of the B.C. Wildfire aircrew who spotted the drone flying over the Testalinden Creek fire near Oliver Sunday says it was pure luck they saw the unmanned aerial vehicle or UAV. The errant drone prompted an immediate grounding of eight helicopters and five planes, and as a result, the...

A&W claims first ever ‘float-thru’ on Penticton channel

PENTICTON - A&W sent an actor and crew to Penticton recently to film a commercial for its Facebook page. The series of ads feature a float-thru rather than a drive thru on the Okanagan river channel through the Peach City. There were no shortage of floaters ready for a free burger. Too bad no one...

Uneasy calm in Oliver after frantic night firefighting and evacuating

PENTICTON - Hundreds of people remain out of their homes as crews continue to battle the two wildfires in the Oliver area today. There is an uneasy calm after the frantic firefighting and evacuations last night. Smoke plumes dot the mountainsides west of the community today, Aug. 15, after the Wilsons Mountain and Testalinden Creek fires...

UPDATE: Crews battling two wildfires near Oliver

PENTICTON – The fight continues today to get a handle on the pair of wildfires burning near Oliver, which have forced hundreds out of their homes and destroyed a house. The wildfires broke out yesterday, Aug. 14, and grew quickly thanks to high winds pushing the flames through grass, sage and open timber, forcing the...

Wildfires break out in Oliver; evacuations ordered

PENTICTON - Two wildfires are burning out of control north and south of Oliver this evening, Friday, August 14. The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen issued an evacuation order tonight for 200 homes in the Wilson Mountain area north of Oliver and in the Testalinden Creek area south of Oliver. Emergency Social Services has been...

Shooting victim facing further victimization by bureaucracy

PENTICTON - The man allegedly shot by prolific offender Ronald Teneycke finds himself frustrated by bureaucracy as he continues to heal from the harrowing experience. Wayne Belleville, 58, says he’s not quite ready to talk about being shot by Teneycke after meeting the man on a remote logging road above Oliver on July 22. As...

UPDATE: U.S. wildfire crosses border into Okanagan

UPDATE: 4:49 a.m., Friday, Aug. 14, 2015 The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen has now rescinded the evacuation order for residents of Nine Mile Place on Anarchist Mountain due to a reduced threat of wildfire. Nine Mile Place, along with residents of Raven Hill Road and Raven Hill Place, will remain on evacuation alert due to...

Water managers preparing for longer-term Okanagan drought

KELOWNA - While they are still in the midst of dealing with this year’s widespread drought in the southern B.C. the province’s top water managers are already looking ahead to next year. “Current weather patterns is for a strong El Nino blob off the coast. It is setting up the scenario for a drier than...

Severe thunderstorm watch for Okanagan

OKANAGAN - After a record day in the Okanagan temperatures are set to cool down and we can expect to see heavy rain and possibly severe thunderstorms over the next couple of days. Yesterday, Aug. 13, a new high temperature record was set in Kelowna, 37.8 Celsius, with Vernon, at 36.5 C, and Penticton, at...

You’re not the only one not feeling frisky in this heat

HEAT KILLING CATTLE (SEX) DRIVE THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Beef is meeting supply needs so far this year, but it hasn’t been easy for ranchers as they deal with drought and extreme conditions that leave cattle not wanting to mate. Kevin Boon, general manager of the B.C. Cattleman’s Association, says the hardest hit areas in the province’s...

Despite a spike in water-related deaths, drownings down overall

VERNON - A number of water-related deaths in the Thompson-Okanagan over the past month have brought the topic to the forefront of many people’s minds, but the province’s Lifesaving Society says the number of drowning deaths is actually down considerably so far this year. Just this past weekend, a 27-year-old man was critically injured while...

Heavy rain on the way; flash flooding risk

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - A system of heavy rain is on the way to the Thompson-Okanagan with the potential to cause flash flooding. Environment Canada has issued a special weather statement covering the South and North Thompson, Nicola, Shuswap and Okanagan. An area of rain embedded in thunderstorms is expected to develop over the Similkameen tomorrow afternoon,...

Vernon tree removal ‘another straw in the demise of the herons’

VERNON - A North Okanagan city is standing by its decision to allow a stand of trees to be chopped down despite concerns within the community it could impact an at-risk species of bird. With a tree removal permit in hand from the City of Vernon, a housing developer removed the tall Cottonwood and poplar...

Gas prices going up in the Okanagan

OKANAGAN - Gas prices are rising throughout Canada and the Okanagan is no exception. According to GasBuddy, an online tracking system for gas prices, only about a dozen stations remain below 130 cents per litre this afternoon, Aug. 13, in Kelowna while about seven stations sit at 129.9 cents per litre. Many stations have jumped...

Lightning strikes keep crews hopping dousing wildfires

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Thunderstorms moving through the region ignited several new fires in the Kamloops Fire Centre. The fire danger rating for the Kamloops Fire Centre is high to extreme, with more lightning in the forecast for today, Aug. 13. “We did see lightning move through the area, followed by reports of fires yesterday, so we...

ELECTION 2015: New federal electoral boundaries in place

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - Boundary changes for ridings in the Thompson, Okanagan and Similkameen regions are in place for the upcoming federal election. The redistribution process of the most recent review, which is required every 10 years, began in 2012 and new federal electoral districts were approved for the first general election to be called after May...

Two people injured in Lake Country ATV crash

LAKE COUNTRY - A Vernon teenager is in hospital with potentially life-threatening injuries after an all terrain vehicle crash in Lake Country Wednesday evening. The 18-year-old was driving a mini-ATV on Williams Road around 7:45 p.m., Aug. 12, when both the driver and passenger, an 18-year-old Vernon woman, were ejected. RCMP believe the vehicle experienced...

Why you’ll want to reserve your Okanagan red wines this year

THOMPSON-OKANAGAN - All through the Okanagan region, winemakers are getting excited about prospects for this year’s grape crop. Hot, sunny days that have been relatively constant since early June have brought this year’s vintage along at blazing speed, and Okanagan winemakers believe the conditions are right for one of the best vintages ever. “It’s definitely...