In the news today: B.C. wildfire forces evacuation of music festival

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This article was published 08/08/2023 (1152 days ago), so information in it may no longer be current.

Here is a roundup of stories from The Canadian Press designed to bring you up to speed on what you need to know today…

B.C. festival evacuated due to wildfire, more properties on alert over long weekend

Out of an abundance of caution, officials decided to clear out a music festival in B.C.’s southern interior, after a nearby wildfire was ignited by a recreational vehicle fire.

About 1,000 attendees at the Under the Stars event were safely evacuated as the sudden blaze began to quickly spread.

Elsewhere, both the Thompson-Nicola and the Columbia Shuswap Regional Districts have evacuation orders in place for two wildfires burning on opposite sides of Adams Lake — the Lower East Adams Lake wildfire and the Bush Creek East wildfire.

Evolving wildfire conditions challenging for Yukon officials after village evacuation

Yukon is burning — with 126 active wildfires across the territory.

Fire information officer Haley Ritchie says they are keeping their fingers crossed that a shift in wind and some cooler weather could help crews contain one of the newer wildfires — the Talbot Creek wildfire.

The latest blaze has been inching closer to the Village of Mayo, leading to a Sunday evacuation.

Ritchie says they have more than 40 personnel assigned to the Talbot Creek fire — along with six air tankers and four helicopters.

Here’s what else we’re watching …

Voting day in Nova Scotia’s Preston byelection

Voters in a provincial riding near Halifax are heading to the polls today in a byelection.

The contest in the Preston riding was made necessary when Liberal Angela Simmonds stepped down in April.

The five candidates vying for the seat are Liberal Carlo Simmons, Progressive Conservative Twila Grosse, Colter Simmonds of the NDP, Charles “Bobby” Taylor of Nova Scotians United and Green Party Leader Anthony Edmonds.

The Liberals are trying to retain a seat the party has held for most of the past 20 years.

Emails show RCMP actions during farmer’s trial

Internal emails show the R-C-M-P braced for backlash across rural Saskatchewan and kept a close eye on Indigenous groups following the not guilty verdict of a farmer charged in the death of Colten Boushie.

Emails obtained by The Canadian Press under freedom of information laws show the top Mountie in the province also warned members to watch their opinions as the highly charged murder case progressed.

Farmer Gerald Stanley was acquitted of second-degree murder in 2018 after testifying in court that his gun accidentally went off.

Canadians reassured to see military helping during local emergencies, Blair says

Defence Minister Bill Blair says Canadians want to see the military come to their aid during natural disasters, and the Armed Forces will remain a key part of the government’s response.

“There is just something, I think, incredibly reassuring to Canadians when the Canadian Armed Forces show up and men and women in uniform are out in their communities and they’re sandbagging and helping people evacuate and get to safety,” he said in a recent interview.

Blair, who was moved from the Emergency Preparedness portfolio to head up Defence in last month’s cabinet shuffle, has been involved in co-ordinating the federal government’s response to various disasters. Those included floods caused by an atmospheric river in British Columbia in 2021, wildfires that have raged across the country each summer and the devastation caused by Hurricane Fiona in Atlantic Canada last year.

Feds ponder putting strings on clean power funds

The federal government might make provinces commit to its target to green their power grids by 2035 in order to get new investment tax credits and grants for electricity projects.

That is already a requirement for one of the new tax credits, but a paper published by the federal government today opens the door to expanding it.

Energy Minister Jonathan Wilkinson says the idea is under consideration because the money has to guarantee Canadians will have a reliable, affordable and clean power grid.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published August 8, 2023.