With little to no rainfall occurring over the past five weeks, the west coast of Vancouver Island has now reached Drought Level 4, putting salmon at risk of decay.

According to the Province of B.C., at Drought Level 4 conditions are extremely dry and adverse effects to socio-economic or ecosystem values are likely.

Areas under Drought Level 4 include the Fort Nelson basin, the Sunshine Coast basin, Lower Mainland basin and the east and west Vancouver Island. 

As the heat of the summer extends into October there has been a prolonged forest fire season. As of Oct. 18, the province has 201 active fires with six having started in the previous two days.

Though two of the four fires in the Port Alberni area are no longer burning, four in Strathcona, and four between Gold River and Zeballos remain.

Tarek Ayache, air quality meteorologist with the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change Strategy, said that the smoke across Vancouver Island is largely due to the forest fires burning south of the border.

Nearly a year after the Zim Kingston lost over 100 shipping containers at sea west of Vancouver Island, a House of Commons committee has concluded that Canada is ill-prepared to deal with marine cargo accidents.

British Columbians who have a family doctor can count themselves fortunate, as about 20 per cent of the population - or one in five people - have no regular family physician to go to, according to the BCFamilyDocs website.

The shortage of family physicians is nation-wide problem and is being felt more acutely over the past two years during the pandemic, when COVID-19 cases added pressure to the health care system

But there are other reasons for the doctor shortage, including the fact that there are fewer medical school graduates.

With an unusually warm autumn season, for many British Columbians it may feel like there is an extra month of summer, but the lack of rainfall has extended forest fire season.

Julia Caranci, fire information officer with the Coastal Fire Centre, says that the fires have continued to pop up through to the middle of October because there has not been a season-ending rainfall event.

A supportive housing facility in Port Alberni for individuals experiencing substance use issues has had to close its doors after Island Health chose not to renew a contract with the service provider.

The New Leaf opened 12 recovery beds in the community in 2015 for people working towards recovery from substance use. Island Health funded six of those beds until they recently chose not to renew the contract with New Leaf owner Lisa George.

George said five people were displaced following the facility’s closure and seven staff members were let go.  

A late start to summer and an unusually warm autumn seems to be bringing out more black bears than usual, seeking food sources for insatiable appetites as instinct drives them to prepare for winter.

In Port Alberni it is not uncommon to see black bears roaming the streets, knocking over trash and compost bins late at night. All city-provided compost bins in the small city have brass clips that help keep bears out, but not all trash bins have them.

The B.C. Assembly of First Nations is building an economic development centre, with the aim of providing Indigenous communities with much-needed expertise to pursue ventures towards prosperity.

Ucluelet Secondary School (USS) began preparing for the Legacy of Hope Exhibit within days of welcoming their students back from summer vacation, ahead of the deadline for National Day for Truth and Reconciliation on September 30th. 

Jason Sam, program coordinator for the Clayoquot Biosphere Trust, had been organizing for six months prior to the event. On the second day of school Sam and USS teachers began working together, introducing the project to students at the end of the first week.

A routine trip from Tofino to Hot Springs Cove aboard a float plane turned terrifying after the aircraft faltered on take-off, cartwheeled, and settled on the ocean upside down. NTC President Judith Sayers was aboard that flight and was rescued from drowning by her son, who was also aboard.

The Transportation Safety Board of Canada (TSB) has determined that two factors played a role in the accident: the wake from passing boats and possible errors in weight and balance calculations.