James Uukwaqum Swan is left scratching his head and out-of-pocket after his water taxi Pegasus experienced a hit-and-run at Tofino’s First Street Dock on July 10.
Pegasus, a 22-foot Hewescraft boat used to shuttle folks to places like Hot Springs Cove in the northwestern part of Clayoquot Sound, was knocked so hard in the bow it suffered a crack about 10-inches wide and a quarter inch thick.
A wildfire burning close to Tseshaht’s main reserve, located between Sproat Lake and Port Alberni, is being held, according to the Aug. 7 update from BC Wildfire Service, while police have announced an arrest in the incident.
The wildfire was reported by BC Wildfires on Tuesday, Aug. 6 at 6:34 p.m. The latest report says the fire size has grown from 0.009 hectares to 0.5 hectares. There are no current evacuation orders in place.
There is an out-of-control wildfire burning close to Tseshaht’s main reserve, located between Sproat Lake and Port Alberni.
The wildfire was reported by BC Wildfires on Tuesday, Aug. 6 at 6:34 p.m. It is 0.009 hectares and there are no current evacuation orders in place.
“The fire began on Crown land and moved into Mosaic private land,” reads an Aug. 6 bulletin posted by Tseshaht First Nation at 8:30 p.m.
“Please be advised there is NO immediate danger to lives or infrastructure. The fire continues to move away from our reserve,” reads the bulletin.
The Mowachaht/Muchalaht First Nation once again welcomed a boatload of visitors to its ancestral home of Yuquot for the 32nd annual Summerfest celebration.
The MV Uchuck III departed from the Gold River dock on Aug. 3 to land for an afternoon at the ancient village site on the southern shore of Nootka Island. Since 1992 Mowachaht/Muchalaht members have returned to Yuquot each summer to camp at the remote site, which served as the First Nation’s main reserve community until it was moved to the Gold River area in the early 1970s.
Two Rottweiler mix puppies have a safe home in Ucluelet after being found down a logging road on Ukee Days weekend, July 26 to July 28.
It is unclear as to why they were on the backroads alone, but a post on social media by their rescuer (who declined to be interviewed) describes the pups as likely being abandoned.
“No collars, no people anywhere to be found, covered in fleas and terrified,” reads the Facebook post on Ucluelet’s public community board.
The puppies were given de flea medication and days after being found, long-term locals took them in.
Provincial officials are warning people to be vigilant of an aggressive streamflow if a blockage on Chilcotin River suddenly breaks, while hoping that nature will correct the massive landslide.
On July 6, a fire broke out near the Hupacasath reserve, prompting more preventive measures to protect First Nations from future fires.
“[The fire] was a big scare considering how close it was to the reserve,” said Jonathan Porter, housing manager of the Hupacasath First Nation. “The fire department showed up in a timely manner and worked out the best it could for an unfortunate situation.”
Ball fans packed the grandstands at Port Alberni’s historic Rec Park Stadium on July 26 to July 28 for a glorious weekend of men’s fastball.
Dubbed “Bringing it Back to the Valley”, the tournament was hosted by the Parksville Red Sox and featured eight teams from Nanaimo, Victoria, Lillooet, Chase, Prince George and California, USA.
“It was a great turnout,” said Tseshaht member Thomas Dick, a first-time tournament organizer and second baseman for the Parksville Red Sox.
The Tseshaht youth dined on traditionally smoked sockeye, drank nettle tea and sang their friendly Paddle Song before landing at the village of Ehthlateese to stay with the Uchucklesaht Tribe. They counted paddle strokes across the Barkley Sound in Nuu-chah-nulth language.
“c̓awaak (one).
ʔaƛa (two).
qacc̓a (three).
muu (four).
suč̓a (five)…”
A Tseshaht First Nation woman is among a group of rugby players that made history at the Paris Olympics.
Shalaya Valenzuela is a member of the Canadian women’s rugby sevens club that captured the silver medal at the Games on Tuesday.
The second-place finish marked Canada’s best Olympic result in the sport. Canada had earned a bronze medal at the 2016 Games in the Brazilian city of Rio de Janiero. That marked the first time the sport was introduced into Olympic competition.
As for this year’s Games, Canada was downed 19-12 by New Zealand in the gold-medal match.