July 19, 2025 • 22 mins
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Check podcasts.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
This is an abbreviated version of Check News watch full
Check newscasts week days at five, six, and ten, or
anytime one Check Plus or Checknews dot CA.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
You can't move your lun at this time of year.
You know you Just one little friction from a rock
or whatever is going to set it off with a spark.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
It won't take much.
Speaker 4 (00:25):
Communities on edge as the island remains extremely dry and
there's little to no relief in the forecast.
Speaker 5 (00:34):
To prepare for the store opening. She's very confident that
we're going to get the stores.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
An island billionaire's dream to build back the bay is
a step closer, who she wants to hire and the challenges.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
That lie ahead. Rev your engines.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Douce Days is back in the Capitol bigger than ever.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Good evening and thanks for joining us.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
A once lush ravine backing on the homes in port
Albernie is charred by fire tonight after a wildfire swept
through it late Friday afternoon. Firefighters have been dousing hot
spots throughout the day and have controlled the fire spread,
but as Skyriine reports, it's a critical reminder of how
high the danger is right now.
Speaker 6 (01:30):
When Robin Wood saw smoke rising from port Albernie's Treasure
Dry Creek Park Friday near his home, he feared how
fast fire inside this very dry ravine could grow.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
You never know how bad it's going. They get, you know,
and it's frightful really, you know, for a lot of
people everywhere, and because you know how fast it can happen.
Speaker 6 (01:56):
This is what port Albernie firefighters found when they got
the call at three thirty pm Friday, Flames spreading quickly
up this gully that is dense with trees and dry fuels.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
It's one little spark will ignite those whole place.
Speaker 6 (02:10):
Up Dry Creek is a popular hiking area that's filled
with wildlife and backs onto homes. So the Bacy Wildfire
Service also responded to the scene with an initial attack
crew to assist port Alberni firefighters, whose strong hoses over
thirteen hundred feet that's four Canadian football fields over steep
terrain to reach the wildfire and successfully stop it spread
(02:34):
in these extremely dry conditions.
Speaker 7 (02:37):
But generally speaking, yes, we see fires grow more quickly
as the fire danger rating increases.
Speaker 6 (02:42):
And there was fear this fire could spread unseen through
roots in the ground, so port Albernie firefighters return to
the scene Saturday in dowsing hotspots and ensuring that fire
was out.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Because obviously you don't want anything to happen.
Speaker 6 (02:57):
The fire danger rating is currently high or extreme in
most areas of Vancouver Island. Port Alberni has recorded only
fifty six percent of usual precipitation so far this year.
July has been even drier. Just one point seven millimeters
of rain has fallen so far this month here compared
to the about twenty millimeters usually seen this far into July.
Speaker 7 (03:18):
So what this means is our indices are climbing and
climbing and we aren't expecting to see any significant rain
over the next seven to ten days.
Speaker 6 (03:25):
Fortunately, all six fires on Vancouver Island are now listed
as under control. The investigation need to what started port
Albernie's Dry Creek wildfire continues now.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
The Coastal Fire Center hopes the campfire ban implemented this
week helps reduce the number of human cause wildfires. So far,
there's been seventy five human cause fires this season, and
now officials in our province are asking people to do
everything they can to conserve water. The province faces more
hot and dry weather conditions in the coming weeks, and
(03:57):
experts warned that this year's drought seat will be worse
than last.
Speaker 8 (04:02):
In BC's desert scape interior, a salmon haatchery props up
threatened coho and chinook in a drought. This creek flanks
the facility, but in the summer the water gets too shallow,
hot and low in oxygen.
Speaker 9 (04:17):
The warm where it gets, the more stress that has
on the fish. The weaker fish are going to die.
Speaker 8 (04:21):
So the river and ocean going species are raised in groundwater.
Speaker 10 (04:26):
So this is our oration tower, which.
Speaker 8 (04:27):
Is reoxygenated on site and flows into the tanks to
keep the fish alive. It's one solution to BC's increasingly
hot and dry summers. More than sixty percent of the
province is currently at elevated levels of drought. It's a
year on year problem also connected to less snowfall in
the winter.
Speaker 9 (04:47):
August into September, when the fishers fawning, there's no snow
left on the mountains, so the water is getting hotter
than normally would if you had still had snow melt
running into there.
Speaker 8 (04:57):
Prolonged drought has become so complex here province is now
changing how it communicates the stakes to the public. And
interactive online map, which once only reported drought severity, will
be upgraded to show extra data, including how much water
a community has stored for use and how well rivers
(05:17):
and creeks are flowing.
Speaker 11 (05:18):
The message is that we all have a critical role
to conserving our water this summer, especially in areas where
we're facing water scarcity.
Speaker 8 (05:27):
The changes also bring BC in line with US and
Mexico drought reporting to help monitor broader trends.
Speaker 12 (05:34):
So it's really looking at that bigger picture of how
we're using water and where the priorities of that water
use really need to fall. At the end of the day,
we want to ensure that there's enough water within our
aquatic ecosystems to support those fish habitats in the other wildlife.
Speaker 8 (05:48):
The province says these new measures are ultimately about increasing resiliency.
Climate change is driving more extreme and unpredictable weather here
and BC needs to be ready.
Speaker 4 (05:59):
And with that weather, it's not just here in our province.
Wildfires across the country are now hurting our air quality.
Some regions are now under alerts and will be for days.
CBC Sarah Reid has more from Edmonton.
Speaker 13 (06:13):
Many communities across Manitoba and northern Saskatchewan and northern Alberta
are all facing air Quality Index ratings of ten plus,
but experts say that even a moderate rating of four
to six can still be dangerous, and that danger can
increase depending on what's burning. Is it just forest or
has the fire reached a community and therefore the smoke
(06:34):
contains particulates from things that have caught fire, including structures, homes,
or even cars. Now, experts say that while we do
understand more of the short term effects of smoke and
how that impacts our bodies, there isn't a lot of
research on the long term effects of smoke and what
it means for children or vulnerable populations like pregnant women
(06:54):
to experience repeated exposure.
Speaker 14 (06:57):
Their lungs are still growing. Their lungs tenue to grow
until you're in your early twenties, and so year after
year does this repeated exposure that we're likely to experience
because a climate change cause the lungs to be stunted
in growth, have more risk of things like asthma and COPD.
Speaker 13 (07:16):
With so many fires still burning across the prairies, the
smoke is not expected to lessen over the course of
the weekend. In Manitoba, four new fires were sparked over
the last twenty four hours due to a storm that
roll through the area, bringing some rain but also lightning.
Crews in that area are receiving additional support from fire
crews that were brought in from Mexico as well as
(07:37):
from Australia, and in addition to fighting the fires, they
are also working to try and protect communities in the area,
creating fireguards by reducing some of the vegetation. Now, the
smoke is hindering some of the fire fighting efforts, and
crews in Manitoba were not able to fight the fire
from the air due to the thick smoke that created
visibility problems. Now northern parts of the Prayer are expected
(08:00):
to see a rise in temperatures over the course of
the weekend, which means the situation likely won't get any
easier for cruise fighting forest fires.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
Closer to home here on the island, in a Squimalt,
more than three thousand units of housing have been approved
by council, a major bump in the town's population, and
as that population grows, so does the demand for municipal services.
With the fire department consistently using overtime to serve the community.
The chief there is warning that the way things are
(08:29):
running now is unsustainable.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Here's Channis Leo.
Speaker 15 (08:35):
When there's a structure fire, bush fire or wildfire, the
dedication from firefighters is inexplicable and for the Esquimalt Fire Department,
the demand for dedication is ever growing.
Speaker 10 (08:47):
For all our call types are increasing.
Speaker 15 (08:49):
Because of the increase, the Esquimalt Fire Department is asking
council to add two six month trial firefighters to help
lower the amount of overtime their staff are arcumulating.
Speaker 10 (08:59):
To we meet our minimum staffing.
Speaker 16 (09:01):
We're currently doing that through overtime, and our overtime is
it's not sustainable.
Speaker 15 (09:08):
Since the pandemic in twenty twenty, Esquimalt has seen the
total amount of incident calls increase year over year, seeing
six hundred and sixteen calls in twenty twenty to just
over one thousand in twenty twenty four, with no sign
of slowing down. The fire chief is worried about the
long term health of his staff when they work too
many long hours.
Speaker 16 (09:27):
In the long term, it's just not sustainable. It's going
to take us toll on our firefighters, and we have
to keep them healthy and well.
Speaker 11 (09:33):
This year alone, we expect eight hundred units of housing
to come online. That's at least a thousand people being
added to Esquimalt.
Speaker 15 (09:42):
Last year, the fire station requested nine additional firefighters, but
council only approved one additional firefighter and one admin staff.
The mayor is hoping this increase will improve the lives
of those saving other lives.
Speaker 11 (09:55):
When we talk about overtime, what we're doing is actually
calling on our fire fighters to say, come in, can
you do an extra shift? And that's not sustainable over
a long term.
Speaker 15 (10:07):
And some overtime can be attributed to the amount of
medical calls that the fire department attends to. Back in
twenty twenty, Esquimalt Fire answered two hundred and fifty nine
medical calls, and just last year it more than doubled
to five hundred and thirty seven.
Speaker 16 (10:21):
We're predicting about one hundred and fifty more calls for
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 10 (10:24):
On top of that fire thirty seven.
Speaker 16 (10:26):
Okay, and interesting kind of stat from this is every
five years we're seeing a twenty five percent increase in
call boying.
Speaker 15 (10:33):
Wow, and Esquimalt is in the first department on the
island to signal a heavier than normal increase in calls.
In twenty twenty four, the Portal Bringing Fire Department attended
over eighteen hundred medical calls, leading them to reduce the
amount of medical aid calls. The fire department responds to, we.
Speaker 10 (10:49):
Have a saying of the fire service.
Speaker 16 (10:51):
The biggest cause for change for the top three reasons, people,
people and people.
Speaker 10 (10:56):
Well, you got it here in a squial, don't you, yeah?
Speaker 15 (10:59):
Chief for a lot wreck commendations go to council for
a vote this coming Monday.
Speaker 4 (11:04):
An island billionaire and her bid to buy up Hudson
Bay Leases is back in the spotlight tonight. She held
a job fair in Toronto today, prioritizing former employees of
the big box retailer. She currently owns only three BC
locations of the Bay out of the twenty eight across
the country.
Speaker 17 (11:25):
Part job fair, part dance party, hundreds of vendors in
former Hudson's Bay employees flocked to downtown Toronto's Intercontinental Hotel,
hopeful liquidly to employment.
Speaker 18 (11:36):
I'm really excited to be here.
Speaker 6 (11:38):
We really don't know if we have jobs or not
it sounds positive.
Speaker 17 (11:41):
There's just one catch. Ruby Liu doesn't own any Toronto
property so far. With her bid to buy up twenty
five more locations across Canada still before in Ontario court.
Speaker 5 (11:51):
It's very obvious that Ruby Leu is a qualified bidder.
Speaker 17 (11:55):
Speaking through her CEO, Linda Chin, who translated for her,
Liu's she's not worried.
Speaker 5 (12:01):
We want to prepare for the store opening. She's very
confident that we're going to get the stores.
Speaker 17 (12:07):
While the Bay sold its intellectual property, which is intangible
assets like its name and logo to Canadian tire, Liu
signed deals with the defunct retail giant in May to
scoop up the leases. One month later, she got keys
to her first properties, but their one's already located in
her own malls. Now the Bay is fighting in court
with one of its biggest lenders, who is trying to
block the proposed deal for the remaining locations. Not surprisingly,
(12:31):
this legal expert says money is at the root of
the concerns that different creditors do not agree about whether
or not this is in the best interest of their
financial situation. What we do know of her plans is
that she's budgeted eighty four million to revamp the properties
to mimic Asian department stores with shopping, dining, and entertainment.
This vendor says it's the change Canadian retail needs.
Speaker 19 (12:54):
They were stuck with the traditional way of doing businesses
which she I think it's the failure.
Speaker 17 (13:01):
But many landlords, including Cadillac Fairview, are wary of Leu
as a tenant, saying she lacks the experience to pull
it off. This housing expert says that's not her only challenges.
Speaker 20 (13:11):
These spaces are big square boxes without windows and not
easily redeveloped.
Speaker 17 (13:17):
In the meantime, former Bay employees are holding out hope
they'll soon find work.
Speaker 7 (13:22):
If she pulls this off, she will be a Canadian hero.
Speaker 17 (13:24):
Now her relationship with her last lawyer has dissolved, but
she since obtained a new representation, so it's unclear when
all of this could get wrapped up in court, but
Leu says she's confident she'll have keys to all the
remaining properties.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
In August, the Capital Regional District has temporarily closed several
trails within the Mount Work Regional Park area following a
report of a recent cougar.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
The CRD says. The trail closures issued.
Speaker 4 (13:49):
On Friday evening remain in effect today and tonight until
further notice. The closures come after the CRD consulted with
the BC Conservation Office Service and advising the public to
stay out of the closed sections.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
For a full list of the trail closures, you can
head to our website at chechnews dot ca.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
Well lots happening around the island today and one of
the longest running events and a favorite for many, brought
tens and thousands to one street today.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Look at the crowds.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
For thirty six years, the Moss Street Painting drew thousands
to see and take in so many local artists and
their work. It's one of the largest festivals of its
kind in the country, attracting around fifty thousand people all
to take a closer look at work being done in
our own backyard.
Speaker 21 (14:40):
The idea is really to support local regional artists from
the island and the Gulf Islands. We really want them
to have a data showcase and to show the people
of Victoria and beyond how talented the artists are.
Speaker 4 (14:52):
In our midst More than one hundred and seventy artists
showcasing their work. This year, there were also tours of
the Art Gallery Greater Victoria, a National mountain Biking competition
underway and Langford right now some of the championship events
today with more racist tomorrow. The Kaslow Canadian xCC XCO
Mountain Bike Championships kicked off at Jordi Lune Bike Park
(15:14):
in Langford on Thursday, bringing about five hundred racers from
across the country to Vancouver Island. Check has been live
streaming the event and you can watch simply head to
check News dot Ca for more information. With elite riders
going tonight and more races will kick off tomorrow well.
A major traffic jam in downtown Victoria today, but of
a good kind. Classic cars are bumper to bumper in
(15:37):
the Inner Harbor and Dallas Road for the internationally renowned
Douce Days. Since nineteen ninety eight, the event has drawn
in drivers from far and wide. As Grace Miller reports,
this year is bigger than ever.
Speaker 18 (15:53):
Classic car community is pulling up in full display to
show off their hot rods, specifically the nineteen thirty two
Ford Each have a bit of a different look to them, however,
one thing is the same. There's a story under each hook.
Speaker 22 (16:08):
And every car is different, so it's the personality thing.
I even fell in love with a teenager, so.
Speaker 12 (16:18):
My dad built her a hot rodder.
Speaker 20 (16:21):
My cars have always been real rank to you know,
two senior hot rodders.
Speaker 18 (16:26):
This morning started off as a bumpy road for a
few of these engines. Some are even getting their hands
a little dirty.
Speaker 20 (16:32):
That's just hot riding it. It happens, that's not the
sound we wanted, even with finished cars. Yeah, there's always
something to be done. There's the camaraderie. There was two
or three guys around here this morning that were was
kind of helping me diagnose the problem and figure out what,
you know, what the plan was. The camaraderie of all
(16:54):
of this is huge.
Speaker 18 (16:56):
To be Organizers say this year's event is the largest yet.
Speaker 19 (17:00):
One year, and then ten the next year, and then
this year is thirteen hundred cars coming from all over.
The farthest gentleman, I believe, is from New Zealand and
he's been coming to this show for many years.
Speaker 10 (17:15):
So we've been coming to the News Day since two
thousand and seven.
Speaker 20 (17:18):
It's an awesome show and it felt like back then
it was more news is nowadays there's just such a
broad riety.
Speaker 23 (17:25):
Whether it's a hot rod or any other speedster out
here today, people have come far and wide for today's events.
One highlight seems to be the same though, people's love
for classic cars.
Speaker 20 (17:34):
It's just something that you can't you can't shake. It's
hard to explain if you don't have the loved it's
hard to know how to explain it to someone. But
if you're talking to someone that does have it, they
totally understand it.
Speaker 22 (17:48):
It's an addiction, right, It's a car addiction. Once you
have this bug, you'd never really let go of it,
even if you're too old to do it. You always
want to know someone that has once you can go.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
For a cruise.
Speaker 18 (17:58):
The cars are a draw, but the stories and connections
is what keeps the houses coming back to the island.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
Reduce day, great event, fun day to be down there.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
And the weather seemed perfect, although what in the deuce
is going on with the.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Weather, because last night it was incredibly windy. It was
even I would say it was like a hot cold day,
like it would get warm, sometimes even hot, and then
it felt in the evening and the wind.
Speaker 24 (18:25):
Yeah, the wind last night in particular, made it feel colder.
And even when I came in yesterday afternoon to work,
it was twenty four Going through Santwich, I got to
the Chech studios, it was super windy here I got
out of the car and it felt freezing. So that
wind can make it feel different than it is. But
really these are pretty normal summer temperature.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Really, we've just been.
Speaker 24 (18:41):
So hot and coming to parts of Victoria above thirty
for we were coming.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
Back from Port Renfrew, and I swear on the windshield
was a little bit of rain.
Speaker 24 (18:52):
Yes, briefly yesterday. Yes, yes, there were a couple nothing measurable,
nothing enough to help sprits, but not even that. Just
a drop or two for some areas yesterday, but certainly
not enough to help. Things are very dry. The good
news is temperatures aren't as hot, at least for the
next couple of day. Let's take a look at our
temperature map and you can see where we're at. So
until yesterday we were seeing red for a good chunk
(19:14):
of the island, the East Island, the South Island, the
Inland Island. But as you can see what we're seeing
this afternoon and also again for tomorrow temperatures not seeing
a lot of red patches some inland areas like port
Albernie certainly, but part areas by the water looking at
sort of low to mid twenty degree temperatures. So for
most areas by the water, twenty three is normal for
this time of year, and that's what we're looking at
(19:35):
for the East Island parts of the South Island for tomorrow,
although those areas where winds blow on shore in Greater
Victoria could see temperatures closer to about sixteen seventeen degrees tomorrow,
so a little bit cooler, but we will think sea
temperatures pop back up again. It gives us a little
bit of a break though, because we have had quite
the summer sizzle with the heat wave the last few days,
so things are settling down a little bit before we
(19:56):
see more warm temperatures. Although for the South Island in
particular the East Island in the areas that need the
rain the most and have the highest fire danger rating
at extreme, no rain in the forecast at all for
at least the next week. Different story for the North Island.
But I wanted to look at where things are at
so far. So Port Hardy, this so far this month
has had just over thirty millimeters of precipitation. That brings
the year to day total to just under four hundred
(20:18):
and seventeen millimeters but normal. For Port Hardy, it's normally
one of the wetter spots in the island, eight hundred
and sixty two milimeters, so only forty eight percent of normal.
We saw how dry Port Albernie is and Qualicon Beach
is also very dry, so only two point eight millimeters
so far this month. So far this year, just over
three hundred millimeters of rain, that's all five hundred and
(20:38):
fifty one is normal. That's only fifty five percent of normal.
And Greater Victoria, which is the driest city in Canada
in summer, only zero point two millimeters of rain so
far this month, so despite being the driest city in Canada,
that's normal so far this year four hundred and sixty
nine milimeters for the airport, we're only at three hundred
and twenty eight, seventy percent of normal. Victoria Gonzali's is
(20:59):
only two hundred and thirty one millimeters two hundred and
ninety seven is normal, so seventy eight percent of normal.
But this month very very dry. Summer is drought for us,
but it's even drier than normal this year. Today's weather
photo is this beautiful blue sky summer shot from Victoria
Jonason of the Malahat Lookout. Yeah, and it looks like
it's a perfect reflection of the map. Absolutely gorgeous. And
(21:22):
our Saturday of your Wildlife photo is this cute photo
from Leanne LeBlanc of three elk calves nursing in her
backyard in High Creek near Port McNeil. They were there
along with the rest of the herd. Absolutely adorable and
we also have a wildlife theme Smile of the Day
coming up for you from Vancouver Island. Scott and all.
Have the latest on your forecast and when you can
expect those temperatures to be a little bit warmer, especially
(21:45):
for areas by the water like a squirmal up At
tend to be cooler than other parts of Greater Victoria.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Looking forward to it. Thanks so much, Tess Well.
Speaker 4 (21:51):
Port Renfrew faces a potential facelift, what a developer hopes
to bring to the region and the pushback not to
be the next to Feno.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
More on that story.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Still Ahat watchful check newscasts weekdays at five six and ten,
or any time on Checkplus or checknews dot Ca.
Check podcasts.
Speaker 2 (00:05):
This is an abbreviated version of Check News watch full
Check newscasts week days at five, six, and ten, or
anytime one Check Plus or Checknews dot CA.
Speaker 3 (00:16):
You can't move your lun at this time of year.
You know you Just one little friction from a rock
or whatever is going to set it off with a spark.
Speaker 1 (00:24):
It won't take much.
Speaker 4 (00:25):
Communities on edge as the island remains extremely dry and
there's little to no relief in the forecast.
Speaker 5 (00:34):
To prepare for the store opening. She's very confident that
we're going to get the stores.
Speaker 4 (00:40):
An island billionaire's dream to build back the bay is
a step closer, who she wants to hire and the challenges.
Speaker 1 (00:47):
That lie ahead. Rev your engines.
Speaker 4 (00:53):
Douce Days is back in the Capitol bigger than ever.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
Good evening and thanks for joining us.
Speaker 4 (01:08):
A once lush ravine backing on the homes in port
Albernie is charred by fire tonight after a wildfire swept
through it late Friday afternoon. Firefighters have been dousing hot
spots throughout the day and have controlled the fire spread,
but as Skyriine reports, it's a critical reminder of how
high the danger is right now.
Speaker 6 (01:30):
When Robin Wood saw smoke rising from port Albernie's Treasure
Dry Creek Park Friday near his home, he feared how
fast fire inside this very dry ravine could grow.
Speaker 3 (01:42):
You never know how bad it's going. They get, you know,
and it's frightful really, you know, for a lot of
people everywhere, and because you know how fast it can happen.
Speaker 6 (01:56):
This is what port Albernie firefighters found when they got
the call at three thirty pm Friday, Flames spreading quickly
up this gully that is dense with trees and dry fuels.
Speaker 3 (02:07):
It's one little spark will ignite those whole place.
Speaker 6 (02:10):
Up Dry Creek is a popular hiking area that's filled
with wildlife and backs onto homes. So the Bacy Wildfire
Service also responded to the scene with an initial attack
crew to assist port Alberni firefighters, whose strong hoses over
thirteen hundred feet that's four Canadian football fields over steep
terrain to reach the wildfire and successfully stop it spread
(02:34):
in these extremely dry conditions.
Speaker 7 (02:37):
But generally speaking, yes, we see fires grow more quickly
as the fire danger rating increases.
Speaker 6 (02:42):
And there was fear this fire could spread unseen through
roots in the ground, so port Albernie firefighters return to
the scene Saturday in dowsing hotspots and ensuring that fire
was out.
Speaker 3 (02:54):
Because obviously you don't want anything to happen.
Speaker 6 (02:57):
The fire danger rating is currently high or extreme in
most areas of Vancouver Island. Port Alberni has recorded only
fifty six percent of usual precipitation so far this year.
July has been even drier. Just one point seven millimeters
of rain has fallen so far this month here compared
to the about twenty millimeters usually seen this far into July.
Speaker 7 (03:18):
So what this means is our indices are climbing and
climbing and we aren't expecting to see any significant rain
over the next seven to ten days.
Speaker 6 (03:25):
Fortunately, all six fires on Vancouver Island are now listed
as under control. The investigation need to what started port
Albernie's Dry Creek wildfire continues now.
Speaker 4 (03:36):
The Coastal Fire Center hopes the campfire ban implemented this
week helps reduce the number of human cause wildfires. So far,
there's been seventy five human cause fires this season, and
now officials in our province are asking people to do
everything they can to conserve water. The province faces more
hot and dry weather conditions in the coming weeks, and
(03:57):
experts warned that this year's drought seat will be worse
than last.
Speaker 8 (04:02):
In BC's desert scape interior, a salmon haatchery props up
threatened coho and chinook in a drought. This creek flanks
the facility, but in the summer the water gets too shallow,
hot and low in oxygen.
Speaker 9 (04:17):
The warm where it gets, the more stress that has
on the fish. The weaker fish are going to die.
Speaker 8 (04:21):
So the river and ocean going species are raised in groundwater.
Speaker 10 (04:26):
So this is our oration tower, which.
Speaker 8 (04:27):
Is reoxygenated on site and flows into the tanks to
keep the fish alive. It's one solution to BC's increasingly
hot and dry summers. More than sixty percent of the
province is currently at elevated levels of drought. It's a
year on year problem also connected to less snowfall in
the winter.
Speaker 9 (04:47):
August into September, when the fishers fawning, there's no snow
left on the mountains, so the water is getting hotter
than normally would if you had still had snow melt
running into there.
Speaker 8 (04:57):
Prolonged drought has become so complex here province is now
changing how it communicates the stakes to the public. And
interactive online map, which once only reported drought severity, will
be upgraded to show extra data, including how much water
a community has stored for use and how well rivers
(05:17):
and creeks are flowing.
Speaker 11 (05:18):
The message is that we all have a critical role
to conserving our water this summer, especially in areas where
we're facing water scarcity.
Speaker 8 (05:27):
The changes also bring BC in line with US and
Mexico drought reporting to help monitor broader trends.
Speaker 12 (05:34):
So it's really looking at that bigger picture of how
we're using water and where the priorities of that water
use really need to fall. At the end of the day,
we want to ensure that there's enough water within our
aquatic ecosystems to support those fish habitats in the other wildlife.
Speaker 8 (05:48):
The province says these new measures are ultimately about increasing resiliency.
Climate change is driving more extreme and unpredictable weather here
and BC needs to be ready.
Speaker 4 (05:59):
And with that weather, it's not just here in our province.
Wildfires across the country are now hurting our air quality.
Some regions are now under alerts and will be for days.
CBC Sarah Reid has more from Edmonton.
Speaker 13 (06:13):
Many communities across Manitoba and northern Saskatchewan and northern Alberta
are all facing air Quality Index ratings of ten plus,
but experts say that even a moderate rating of four
to six can still be dangerous, and that danger can
increase depending on what's burning. Is it just forest or
has the fire reached a community and therefore the smoke
(06:34):
contains particulates from things that have caught fire, including structures, homes,
or even cars. Now, experts say that while we do
understand more of the short term effects of smoke and
how that impacts our bodies, there isn't a lot of
research on the long term effects of smoke and what
it means for children or vulnerable populations like pregnant women
(06:54):
to experience repeated exposure.
Speaker 14 (06:57):
Their lungs are still growing. Their lungs tenue to grow
until you're in your early twenties, and so year after
year does this repeated exposure that we're likely to experience
because a climate change cause the lungs to be stunted
in growth, have more risk of things like asthma and COPD.
Speaker 13 (07:16):
With so many fires still burning across the prairies, the
smoke is not expected to lessen over the course of
the weekend. In Manitoba, four new fires were sparked over
the last twenty four hours due to a storm that
roll through the area, bringing some rain but also lightning.
Crews in that area are receiving additional support from fire
crews that were brought in from Mexico as well as
(07:37):
from Australia, and in addition to fighting the fires, they
are also working to try and protect communities in the area,
creating fireguards by reducing some of the vegetation. Now, the
smoke is hindering some of the fire fighting efforts, and
crews in Manitoba were not able to fight the fire
from the air due to the thick smoke that created
visibility problems. Now northern parts of the Prayer are expected
(08:00):
to see a rise in temperatures over the course of
the weekend, which means the situation likely won't get any
easier for cruise fighting forest fires.
Speaker 4 (08:08):
Closer to home here on the island, in a Squimalt,
more than three thousand units of housing have been approved
by council, a major bump in the town's population, and
as that population grows, so does the demand for municipal services.
With the fire department consistently using overtime to serve the community.
The chief there is warning that the way things are
(08:29):
running now is unsustainable.
Speaker 1 (08:31):
Here's Channis Leo.
Speaker 15 (08:35):
When there's a structure fire, bush fire or wildfire, the
dedication from firefighters is inexplicable and for the Esquimalt Fire Department,
the demand for dedication is ever growing.
Speaker 10 (08:47):
For all our call types are increasing.
Speaker 15 (08:49):
Because of the increase, the Esquimalt Fire Department is asking
council to add two six month trial firefighters to help
lower the amount of overtime their staff are arcumulating.
Speaker 10 (08:59):
To we meet our minimum staffing.
Speaker 16 (09:01):
We're currently doing that through overtime, and our overtime is
it's not sustainable.
Speaker 15 (09:08):
Since the pandemic in twenty twenty, Esquimalt has seen the
total amount of incident calls increase year over year, seeing
six hundred and sixteen calls in twenty twenty to just
over one thousand in twenty twenty four, with no sign
of slowing down. The fire chief is worried about the
long term health of his staff when they work too
many long hours.
Speaker 16 (09:27):
In the long term, it's just not sustainable. It's going
to take us toll on our firefighters, and we have
to keep them healthy and well.
Speaker 11 (09:33):
This year alone, we expect eight hundred units of housing
to come online. That's at least a thousand people being
added to Esquimalt.
Speaker 15 (09:42):
Last year, the fire station requested nine additional firefighters, but
council only approved one additional firefighter and one admin staff.
The mayor is hoping this increase will improve the lives
of those saving other lives.
Speaker 11 (09:55):
When we talk about overtime, what we're doing is actually
calling on our fire fighters to say, come in, can
you do an extra shift? And that's not sustainable over
a long term.
Speaker 15 (10:07):
And some overtime can be attributed to the amount of
medical calls that the fire department attends to. Back in
twenty twenty, Esquimalt Fire answered two hundred and fifty nine
medical calls, and just last year it more than doubled
to five hundred and thirty seven.
Speaker 16 (10:21):
We're predicting about one hundred and fifty more calls for
twenty twenty five.
Speaker 10 (10:24):
On top of that fire thirty seven.
Speaker 16 (10:26):
Okay, and interesting kind of stat from this is every
five years we're seeing a twenty five percent increase in
call boying.
Speaker 15 (10:33):
Wow, and Esquimalt is in the first department on the
island to signal a heavier than normal increase in calls.
In twenty twenty four, the Portal Bringing Fire Department attended
over eighteen hundred medical calls, leading them to reduce the
amount of medical aid calls. The fire department responds to, we.
Speaker 10 (10:49):
Have a saying of the fire service.
Speaker 16 (10:51):
The biggest cause for change for the top three reasons, people,
people and people.
Speaker 10 (10:56):
Well, you got it here in a squial, don't you, yeah?
Speaker 15 (10:59):
Chief for a lot wreck commendations go to council for
a vote this coming Monday.
Speaker 4 (11:04):
An island billionaire and her bid to buy up Hudson
Bay Leases is back in the spotlight tonight. She held
a job fair in Toronto today, prioritizing former employees of
the big box retailer. She currently owns only three BC
locations of the Bay out of the twenty eight across
the country.
Speaker 17 (11:25):
Part job fair, part dance party, hundreds of vendors in
former Hudson's Bay employees flocked to downtown Toronto's Intercontinental Hotel,
hopeful liquidly to employment.
Speaker 18 (11:36):
I'm really excited to be here.
Speaker 6 (11:38):
We really don't know if we have jobs or not
it sounds positive.
Speaker 17 (11:41):
There's just one catch. Ruby Liu doesn't own any Toronto
property so far. With her bid to buy up twenty
five more locations across Canada still before in Ontario court.
Speaker 5 (11:51):
It's very obvious that Ruby Leu is a qualified bidder.
Speaker 17 (11:55):
Speaking through her CEO, Linda Chin, who translated for her,
Liu's she's not worried.
Speaker 5 (12:01):
We want to prepare for the store opening. She's very
confident that we're going to get the stores.
Speaker 17 (12:07):
While the Bay sold its intellectual property, which is intangible
assets like its name and logo to Canadian tire, Liu
signed deals with the defunct retail giant in May to
scoop up the leases. One month later, she got keys
to her first properties, but their one's already located in
her own malls. Now the Bay is fighting in court
with one of its biggest lenders, who is trying to
block the proposed deal for the remaining locations. Not surprisingly,
(12:31):
this legal expert says money is at the root of
the concerns that different creditors do not agree about whether
or not this is in the best interest of their
financial situation. What we do know of her plans is
that she's budgeted eighty four million to revamp the properties
to mimic Asian department stores with shopping, dining, and entertainment.
This vendor says it's the change Canadian retail needs.
Speaker 19 (12:54):
They were stuck with the traditional way of doing businesses
which she I think it's the failure.
Speaker 17 (13:01):
But many landlords, including Cadillac Fairview, are wary of Leu
as a tenant, saying she lacks the experience to pull
it off. This housing expert says that's not her only challenges.
Speaker 20 (13:11):
These spaces are big square boxes without windows and not
easily redeveloped.
Speaker 17 (13:17):
In the meantime, former Bay employees are holding out hope
they'll soon find work.
Speaker 7 (13:22):
If she pulls this off, she will be a Canadian hero.
Speaker 17 (13:24):
Now her relationship with her last lawyer has dissolved, but
she since obtained a new representation, so it's unclear when
all of this could get wrapped up in court, but
Leu says she's confident she'll have keys to all the
remaining properties.
Speaker 4 (13:36):
In August, the Capital Regional District has temporarily closed several
trails within the Mount Work Regional Park area following a
report of a recent cougar.
Speaker 1 (13:47):
The CRD says. The trail closures issued.
Speaker 4 (13:49):
On Friday evening remain in effect today and tonight until
further notice. The closures come after the CRD consulted with
the BC Conservation Office Service and advising the public to
stay out of the closed sections.
Speaker 1 (14:03):
For a full list of the trail closures, you can
head to our website at chechnews dot ca.
Speaker 4 (14:08):
Well lots happening around the island today and one of
the longest running events and a favorite for many, brought
tens and thousands to one street today.
Speaker 1 (14:22):
Look at the crowds.
Speaker 4 (14:23):
For thirty six years, the Moss Street Painting drew thousands
to see and take in so many local artists and
their work. It's one of the largest festivals of its
kind in the country, attracting around fifty thousand people all
to take a closer look at work being done in
our own backyard.
Speaker 21 (14:40):
The idea is really to support local regional artists from
the island and the Gulf Islands. We really want them
to have a data showcase and to show the people
of Victoria and beyond how talented the artists are.
Speaker 4 (14:52):
In our midst More than one hundred and seventy artists
showcasing their work. This year, there were also tours of
the Art Gallery Greater Victoria, a National mountain Biking competition
underway and Langford right now some of the championship events
today with more racist tomorrow. The Kaslow Canadian xCC XCO
Mountain Bike Championships kicked off at Jordi Lune Bike Park
(15:14):
in Langford on Thursday, bringing about five hundred racers from
across the country to Vancouver Island. Check has been live
streaming the event and you can watch simply head to
check News dot Ca for more information. With elite riders
going tonight and more races will kick off tomorrow well.
A major traffic jam in downtown Victoria today, but of
a good kind. Classic cars are bumper to bumper in
(15:37):
the Inner Harbor and Dallas Road for the internationally renowned
Douce Days. Since nineteen ninety eight, the event has drawn
in drivers from far and wide. As Grace Miller reports,
this year is bigger than ever.
Speaker 18 (15:53):
Classic car community is pulling up in full display to
show off their hot rods, specifically the nineteen thirty two
Ford Each have a bit of a different look to them, however,
one thing is the same. There's a story under each hook.
Speaker 22 (16:08):
And every car is different, so it's the personality thing.
I even fell in love with a teenager, so.
Speaker 12 (16:18):
My dad built her a hot rodder.
Speaker 20 (16:21):
My cars have always been real rank to you know,
two senior hot rodders.
Speaker 18 (16:26):
This morning started off as a bumpy road for a
few of these engines. Some are even getting their hands
a little dirty.
Speaker 20 (16:32):
That's just hot riding it. It happens, that's not the
sound we wanted, even with finished cars. Yeah, there's always
something to be done. There's the camaraderie. There was two
or three guys around here this morning that were was
kind of helping me diagnose the problem and figure out what,
you know, what the plan was. The camaraderie of all
(16:54):
of this is huge.
Speaker 18 (16:56):
To be Organizers say this year's event is the largest yet.
Speaker 19 (17:00):
One year, and then ten the next year, and then
this year is thirteen hundred cars coming from all over.
The farthest gentleman, I believe, is from New Zealand and
he's been coming to this show for many years.
Speaker 10 (17:15):
So we've been coming to the News Day since two
thousand and seven.
Speaker 20 (17:18):
It's an awesome show and it felt like back then
it was more news is nowadays there's just such a
broad riety.
Speaker 23 (17:25):
Whether it's a hot rod or any other speedster out
here today, people have come far and wide for today's events.
One highlight seems to be the same though, people's love
for classic cars.
Speaker 20 (17:34):
It's just something that you can't you can't shake. It's
hard to explain if you don't have the loved it's
hard to know how to explain it to someone. But
if you're talking to someone that does have it, they
totally understand it.
Speaker 22 (17:48):
It's an addiction, right, It's a car addiction. Once you
have this bug, you'd never really let go of it,
even if you're too old to do it. You always
want to know someone that has once you can go.
Speaker 1 (17:58):
For a cruise.
Speaker 18 (17:58):
The cars are a draw, but the stories and connections
is what keeps the houses coming back to the island.
Speaker 4 (18:04):
Reduce day, great event, fun day to be down there.
Speaker 1 (18:09):
And the weather seemed perfect, although what in the deuce
is going on with the.
Speaker 4 (18:14):
Weather, because last night it was incredibly windy. It was
even I would say it was like a hot cold day,
like it would get warm, sometimes even hot, and then
it felt in the evening and the wind.
Speaker 24 (18:25):
Yeah, the wind last night in particular, made it feel colder.
And even when I came in yesterday afternoon to work,
it was twenty four Going through Santwich, I got to
the Chech studios, it was super windy here I got
out of the car and it felt freezing. So that
wind can make it feel different than it is. But
really these are pretty normal summer temperature.
Speaker 1 (18:40):
Really, we've just been.
Speaker 24 (18:41):
So hot and coming to parts of Victoria above thirty
for we were coming.
Speaker 4 (18:45):
Back from Port Renfrew, and I swear on the windshield
was a little bit of rain.
Speaker 24 (18:52):
Yes, briefly yesterday. Yes, yes, there were a couple nothing measurable,
nothing enough to help sprits, but not even that. Just
a drop or two for some areas yesterday, but certainly
not enough to help. Things are very dry. The good
news is temperatures aren't as hot, at least for the
next couple of day. Let's take a look at our
temperature map and you can see where we're at. So
until yesterday we were seeing red for a good chunk
(19:14):
of the island, the East Island, the South Island, the
Inland Island. But as you can see what we're seeing
this afternoon and also again for tomorrow temperatures not seeing
a lot of red patches some inland areas like port
Albernie certainly, but part areas by the water looking at
sort of low to mid twenty degree temperatures. So for
most areas by the water, twenty three is normal for
this time of year, and that's what we're looking at
(19:35):
for the East Island parts of the South Island for tomorrow,
although those areas where winds blow on shore in Greater
Victoria could see temperatures closer to about sixteen seventeen degrees tomorrow,
so a little bit cooler, but we will think sea
temperatures pop back up again. It gives us a little
bit of a break though, because we have had quite
the summer sizzle with the heat wave the last few days,
so things are settling down a little bit before we
(19:56):
see more warm temperatures. Although for the South Island in
particular the East Island in the areas that need the
rain the most and have the highest fire danger rating
at extreme, no rain in the forecast at all for
at least the next week. Different story for the North Island.
But I wanted to look at where things are at
so far. So Port Hardy, this so far this month
has had just over thirty millimeters of precipitation. That brings
the year to day total to just under four hundred
(20:18):
and seventeen millimeters but normal. For Port Hardy, it's normally
one of the wetter spots in the island, eight hundred
and sixty two milimeters, so only forty eight percent of normal.
We saw how dry Port Albernie is and Qualicon Beach
is also very dry, so only two point eight millimeters
so far this month. So far this year, just over
three hundred millimeters of rain, that's all five hundred and
(20:38):
fifty one is normal. That's only fifty five percent of normal.
And Greater Victoria, which is the driest city in Canada
in summer, only zero point two millimeters of rain so
far this month, so despite being the driest city in Canada,
that's normal so far this year four hundred and sixty
nine milimeters for the airport, we're only at three hundred
and twenty eight, seventy percent of normal. Victoria Gonzali's is
(20:59):
only two hundred and thirty one millimeters two hundred and
ninety seven is normal, so seventy eight percent of normal.
But this month very very dry. Summer is drought for us,
but it's even drier than normal this year. Today's weather
photo is this beautiful blue sky summer shot from Victoria
Jonason of the Malahat Lookout. Yeah, and it looks like
it's a perfect reflection of the map. Absolutely gorgeous. And
(21:22):
our Saturday of your Wildlife photo is this cute photo
from Leanne LeBlanc of three elk calves nursing in her
backyard in High Creek near Port McNeil. They were there
along with the rest of the herd. Absolutely adorable and
we also have a wildlife theme Smile of the Day
coming up for you from Vancouver Island. Scott and all.
Have the latest on your forecast and when you can
expect those temperatures to be a little bit warmer, especially
(21:45):
for areas by the water like a squirmal up At
tend to be cooler than other parts of Greater Victoria.
Speaker 1 (21:49):
Looking forward to it. Thanks so much, Tess Well.
Speaker 4 (21:51):
Port Renfrew faces a potential facelift, what a developer hopes
to bring to the region and the pushback not to
be the next to Feno.
Speaker 1 (21:59):
More on that story.
Speaker 2 (22:00):
Still Ahat watchful check newscasts weekdays at five six and ten,
or any time on Checkplus or checknews dot Ca.
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