Deadly pileup claims one – BC News – Castanet.net

Not disclosing HIV status

Police are looking for an HIV-positive Vancouver man who has allegedly violated several probation conditions, including not disclosing his HIV status to sexual partners.

In an unprecedented case, David Hynd, 35, pleaded guilty to violating B.C.’s Public Health Act in October 2018 and was given 18 months probation.

As reported by CTV News, his probation conditions included complying with medical directions, taking his prescribed antiretroviral medication and disclosing his HIV status to any sexual partners.

“[We] never would have brought this forward for enforcement, if there hadn’t been an ongoing risk of HIV transmission to members of the public without their knowledge,” Vancouver Coastal Health’s Dr. John Harding told CTV News.

Harding said they took “every supportive measure” for years to try to get Hynd to reduce the risk of transmission to others, before taking legal action.

“This is a point we never wanted to get to,” Harding said.

He’s since allegedly violated six of his probation conditions, and police are actively searching for him.

This week, Vancouver police released Hynd’s name and photo, in an attempt to locate him.

Hynd is 6-foot-3, 195 pounds with brown eyes and a shaved head. He may be driving a black Dodge Ram with an Alberta licence plate. Police say anyone who sees him should call 911.

– with files from CTV Vancouver

Fire-filled season on horizon

After back-to-back record-breaking wildfire seasons in B.C., the province is gearing up for another bad year.

In a wildfire season outlook released this week, the provincial government notes seasonal forecasts are predicting above-average temperatures and less-than-normal rainfall across the province. In concert with “significantly lower-than-average” snow pack levels, the province could be in for another summer of smoke and flame.

“Although the number of ignitions across the province will strongly depend on the number of lightning strikes, fuel and weather conditions are indicating a busier-than-normal season,” the province says.

The seasonal outlook was assessed by meteorologists and fire behaviour specialists taking into account a variety of factors.

“This includes accounting for conditions that affect soil moisture, fine fuel dryness and vegetation growth, which in turn influence the amount of fuel available for wildfires,” the outlook states.

“The severity of a fire season is highly dependent on local weather patterns such as timing and amount of precipitation, length of dry periods, thunderstorms, and wind events.”

The province says many fire starts at this time of year are human-caused, so it’s important the public remains vigilant.

To date, 261 fires have burned 11,053 hectares in B.C., the majority occurring in the north. 

 

Snow falls on Kootenay Pass

Drivers at higher elevations should be cautious this weekend, after snow fell on some mountain passes Friday night. 

While some light snow fell at Pennask Summit on the Okanagan Connector, Kootenay Pass, west of Creston, continues to see snowfall Saturday morning.

While an Environment Canada weather statement warning of snowfall at higher elevations earlier in the week resulted in little snow, five centimetres of snow fell on Kootenay Pass overnight. 

Mandatory winter tire rules on B.C. mountain highways ended over a month ago. 

Tunnel delays frustrate

Maria Rantanen / Richmond News –
Jun 8, 2019 / 7:15 am | Story:
258286

Whether it’s a bridge or a tunnel, Richmond-Queensborough MLA Jas Johal just wants the province to get moving on replacing the George Massey Tunnel.

The bottlenecked link between Richmond and Delta is being studied by the government to determine the best option to replace it. Engineering reports are expected this fall and a business case in the fall of 2020.

However, according to Johal, it seems that the project is back to “square one” after the cancellation of the previous government’s 10-lane bridge project with an estimated price tag of $3.5 billion. 

“Residents are just frustrated, they want this thing dealt with,” Johal said. “If you can prove that a tunnel can carry the same capacity in regard to transit and vehicles, so be it. But I just want something to move forward, and I think that’s where the public’s at right now — the public and businesses.”

Johal said he hears from constituents about the frustrations they’re feeling over constant traffic jams, and he’s worried about businesses leaving Richmond because they can’t retain employees.

Johal recently joined Ian Paton, Liberal MLA for Delta South, and Jordan Bateman, spokesperson for Independent Contractors and Businesses, for a photo opportunity and 60th birthday anniversary of the tunnel, with a cake that read “Sorry about the 60-minute wait!!”

The 10-lane bridge project proposed by the previous government would have been one-third completed by now, Johal said, but the timeline being projected now to replace the tunnel is 2025 or 2026.

He said he is also concerned there’s no money allocated in the three-year budget for the replacement of the tunnel.

However, the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure explained, in a background statement, that the next step, after engineering reports in the fall, is a detailed business case so it can go to the Treasury Board for capital funding with the potential for federal funding.

Metro Vancouver has struck a tunnel replacement task force which includes mayors from the region, including Richmond Mayor Malcolm Brodie, and First Nations chiefs.

The mayors and chiefs came out with a statement earlier this year, before the task force was struck, saying they all feel twinning the tunnel is the best option.

While several regional politicians were opposed to the size of the previously proposed, 10-lane bridge project, Johal said “you build a major piece of infrastructure like that for the city 50 years from now, you don’t necessarily do it to placate politicians today.”

Deadly pileup claims one

Pedestrian killed in crash

The Canadian Press –
Jun 8, 2019 / 6:57 am | Story:
258284

Burnaby RCMP say they believe speed was a factor in a multi-vehicle crash Friday evening that claimed the life of a pedestrian.

The accident happened on Lougheed Highway between Madison Avenue and Gilmore Avenue just before 9 p.m.

Police say the pedestrian died at the scene and that two other people were hospitalized with unspecified injuries.

No other information was immediately released.

Investigators are urging anyone who witnessed the crash or has in car video of the scene to contact them.

Fire prohibitions to start

Effective at noon on Wednesday, June 12, 2019, category two and category three open fires will be restricted throughout the Kamloops Fire Centre to help prevent human-caused wildfires.

This prohibition will remain in effect until noon on Oct. 15, 2019, or until the order is rescinded. Anyone conducting Category two or Category three burns within the Kamloops Fire Centre’s jurisdiction must extinguish those fires by the June 12 deadline.

A map of the affected area is available online at: http://ow.ly/Ah4h30oUb2Z

This prohibition does not ban campfires that are a half-metre high by a half-metre wide (or smaller) and does not apply to cooking stoves that use gas, propane or briquettes. A poster explaining the different categories of open burning is available online at: http://ow.ly/znny309kJv5

Specifically, prohibited activities will include:

* the burning of one or more open fires larger than one metre high by two metres wide;

* stubble or grass fires of any size;

* the use of fireworks, firecrackers, sky lanterns, tiki torches (and similar kinds of torches);

* the use of burning barrels and burning cages of any size or description; and

* the use of binary exploding targets (pre-packaged or homemade explosives such as Tannerite, Thundershot, Gryphon, Firebird SS65, Sure Shot, or similar products).

These prohibitions apply to all public and private land within the Kamloops Fire Centre, unless specified otherwise (e.g., in a local government bylaw).

Before lighting any fire, people should check with local government authorities to see if any other burning restrictions are in effect.

Anyone found in contravention of an open burning prohibition may be issued a ticket for $1,150, required to pay an administrative penalty of up to $10,000 or, if convicted in court, fined up to $100,000 and/or sentenced to one year in jail. If the contravention causes or contributes to a wildfire, the person responsible may be ordered to pay all firefighting and associated costs.

The Kamloops Fire Centre thanks the public for its continued help in preventing wildfires.

Report a wildfire, unattended campfire or open burning violation by calling 1 800 663-5555 toll-free or *5555 on a cellphone. 

Patio furniture held hostage

Jeff Bell / Times Colonist –
Jun 7, 2019 / 4:45 pm | Story:
258274

Whoever stole patio furniture from a Nanaimo home this week says it won’t be given back until the owner pipes down.

“You won’t see your furniture until the parties stop,” a note left behind says. “You are too loud. If you are quiet, you’ll get your crap back.”

The note was signed “The Neighbourhood.”

Nanaimo RCMP said while the incident sounds like old-fashioned “neighbourhood justice,” it is still theft and the owner would like the property back.

Don’t bring in explosives

Eric Thompson / Kamloops Matters –
Jun 7, 2019 / 4:31 pm | Story:
258273

Following a six-hour closure of the Barriere RCMP detachment Thursday, police remind the public not to hand-deliver what they think might be explosive materials to authorities.

About 10 a.m. Thursday, a man came to the detachment and dropped off what he believed was a bag of oilfield, worksite explosives that he had found in a ditch outside town.

As a result, the building was evacuated until the RCMP explosives disposal unit attended. 

“Police response to emergency calls during that time was unaffected,” Barriere RCMP say.

It ended up that the items were very old flares that were safely disposed of.

“Anyone who finds materials that they suspect to be potentially explosive material, or other dangerous items, leave them where they are and to call 911, so that the items can be undisturbed and examined where they are located,” says Cpl. Rob Welsman.

Drought level rising

The Canadian Press –
Jun 7, 2019 / 3:47 pm | Story:
258266

Dry conditions on Vancouver Island, the Gulf Islands and in northeastern British Columbia have prompted the provincial government to issue a level three drought rating.

The province says several important salmon streams on Vancouver Island are approaching critical environmental thresholds for ecosystems and fish.

The drought rating means conditions are very dry, prompting a request for voluntary reductions of water use by residents, on farms and by industry.

The government says if voluntary reductions don’t work to maintain stream flows above critical levels, it may consider regulating water use under the Water Sustainability Act.

Residents are urged to limit outdoor watering, take shorter showers and install water-efficient devices.

Farms are asked to improve water-system efficiencies, while industry is advised to cut non-essential water use and recycle when possible.

Oil slick on Burrard Inlet

UPDATE: 3:30 p.m.

The Coast Guard says a fuel slick in Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet is unrecoverable. 

Officers determined the fuel came from “a vessel transiting from the fuel dock to its moorage in Coal Harbour.”

“The product on the water was determined to be an unrecoverable sheen,” a Coast Guard spokesperson told CTV News.

It’s not yet what kind of fuel or how much was spilled.

ORIGINAL: 2:10 p.m.

The Canadian Coast Guard is responding to a fuel leak on Vancouver’s Burrard Inlet.

A large, oily slick can be seen spreading from Coal Harbour Marina to the area of Brockton Point Lighthouse in Stanley Park, images from CTV News’ Chopper 9 show.

The source of the leak has yet to be confirmed. 

– with files from CTV Vancouver

Badly burned in fire

A suspicious fire sent two people to hospital in Parksville Thursday night.

The fire ripped through a cabin at the River Green Resort about 9:30 p.m., CTV News reports.

Trees and vehicles were also damaged in the blaze, which investigators say appears to be suspicious.

Neighbour Grant Gibson heard a loud bang and saw a flash of light. “Within 10 minutes, it was completely engulfed in flames,” he said.

Vic Nelson described the sound as an explosion. “There’s nothing else that could make a noise like that.”

Corey Shaw ran into the burning unit and helped a woman escape.

“The fellow that I saw had been burned really bad. He was in very heavy shock,” Shaw said. “The girl walked away from the fire with myself … she appeared to be just in shock,” said Shaw.

– with files from CTV Vancouver Island