Infrastructure in Remote Communities

Locked security gates are coming to some of Tofino’s docks, according to the harbour authority’s manager, an inconvenient safety measure that has resulted from liability concerns over float homes at the harbour.

The Fourth Street Dock will remain “fully accessible”, according to the District of Tofino, but a different situation is expected at the Crab Dock, where a dispute has been brewing over people living on a floating home.

The province is looking to the wind as it seeks to power a growing British Columbia.

With an aerial view of Lovekin Rock holding space in the Pacific Ocean just off Long Beach and endless sightlines of rainforest and mountain peaks, the descent into the Tofino-Long Beach Airport (CYAZ) might be one of the most beautiful landings on earth. 

Located within the Pacific Rim National Park Reserve and on Tla-o-qui-aht First Nation (TFN) unceded traditional territory, the Government of Canada built the original CYAZ runways in 1942-1943 for the Second World War.

Two days without power, Ahousaht and Tofino residents are heading into their third night without electricity, as BC Hydro works to recover transmission after the worst storm the utility has seen in almost six years.

With the Nov. 19 ‘bomb cyclone’ moving away from west coast Vancouver Island, people are assessing the damage while others are stranded due to road closures.

The massive storm approached Vancouver Island late in the afternoon of November 19. Environment Canada warns that strong winds will continue Wednesday morning with southeasterly winds gusting to 110 kilometres an hour.

One meteorologist stated that a wind buoy located at the north end of Vancouver Island recorded a wind gust speed of 101 miles per hour, or 162.5 km/hr. 

Residents in Port Alberni woke up to a light dusting of wet snow on the morning of Nov. 19. Other than the weather forecasts, there was no hint that a freight train of a storm is set to hit coastal British Columbia in a few hours.

The Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness issued a bulletin advising residents to prepare for stormy weather that is expected to continue through to Wednesday, Nov. 20.

The original October 18 completion date has come and gone, and the Ministry of Transportation and Infrastructure (MOTI) has extended the finish date on Highway 4 road repairs by about a month.

“The previous atmospheric river event resulted in additional work to ensure the safety of the public through the side,” the ministry said in an email statement to the Ha-shilth-sa. “As a result, the project has been extended to accommodate for that work with a new anticipated completion date of Nov. 15, pending any unforeseen challenges.”

By using the waste of Koi fish to grow fresh produce, Vancouver Island University (VIU) engineering student Jayden Corbeil (Iversen) is hoping to improve food supply issues in remote communities with an open-source aquaponics project.

A collaboration with the Haíɫzaqv Climate Action Team from Bella Bella in the central coast of B.C., the Hesquiaht member’s capstone project looks at manufacturing a small scale, semi-automated aquaponics system. The project will be placed in a classroom at the Bella Bella Community School. 

A pair of tragedies on a flooded Bamfield road during a recent heavy rainfall is bringing up critical questions about how the public should be alerted on the route, says Huu-ay-aht’s elected chief.

The West Coast’s first major storm of the season became fatal over the weekend when the Sarita River overtook sections of the Bamfield Road, claiming the lives of two Bamfield residents.

The deceased have been identified as Ken Duncan and Bob Baden, victims of a rapidly rising Sarita River that had completely submerged the road in feet of water by the early afternoon on Saturday, Oct. 19. Duncan worked as a property manager for the Huu-ay-aht Group of Businesses, while Baden owned and ran a lumber store in Bamfield for many years.