The District of Lake Country is urging residents to get prepared now as warmer, drier conditions increase the risk of wildfire and other seasonal emergencies across the Central Okanagan.Fire Chief Darren Lee says preparedness begins at home, encouraging residents to develop emergency plans, build grab-and-go kits, and ...

Kelowna city councillor Loyal Wooldridge will not run for re-election in this fall's municipal vote, bringing an end to eight years on council.Wooldridge says the decision comes after careful reflection on the demands of public life and a desire to spend more time with family and focus on personal priorities, including...

A B.C. government delegation visited UBC Okanagan this week to tour wildfire research, training and emerging technology aimed at improving fire detection, forecasting and response across the province.The demonstration highlighted artificial intelligence-powered camera systems designed to detect smoke at the earliest st...

Dry conditions continue to intensify across the Okanagan, with prolonged heat placing growing pressure on local water systems and keeping Greater Vernon under Stage 3 water restrictions as reservoirs and streams continue to drop.Officials say the ongoing dry spell is also starting to weigh on agriculture, with orchards...

Police have put out a call for assistance in locating a missing youth.Vernon North Okanagan RCMP said 14-year-old Zaharah Walker was last seen at her residence on Bryden Road in Vernon on June 16.Police believed the girl left her home on foot and was possibly attempting to hitchhike to Lilooet.Zaharah was described as ...

B.C. Hydro will be increasing its electricity capacity with upgrades to a generating system in the Southern Interior.The utility provider said it had begun construction of a sixth unit at the Revelstoke Generating Station, which should add 500 megawatts of capacity to the system. Upgrades will also be made to Units 1 t...

Kelowna Centre BC Conservative MLA Kristina Loewen is welcoming the passage of Bailey's Law, now set to become federal law after passing the Senate.She calls it an important victory in the fight against intimate partner violence.The law makes the killing of an intimate partner an automatic first-degree murder charge wh...

Football fans and families will have nine days of free activities, concerts and watch parties to enjoy when the Touchdown Kelowna Festival takes over Waterfront Park later this month.The city says Touchdown Kelowna Fan Fest, presented by Telus, will run from June 27 to July 4 and coincide with the BC Lions' visit to th...

Kalamoir Regional Park remains closed until further notice after Tuesday's wildfire, while crews complete safety and damage assessments.RDCO thanked residents for quick evacuations and praised firefighters and first responders for their work protecting the area.The fire is believed to be human caused, and officials say...

A wildfire that prompted evacuation orders in West Kelowna is now being held within its perimeter, but investigators are treating the blaze as suspicious and believe it was human-caused.The fire burning in Kalamoir Regional Park remains contained Wednesday, with crews focused on extinguishing hotspots and monitoring fo...

Kelowna City Council is welcoming the royal assent of Bill C-14, the Bail and Sentencing Reform Act, saying it will strengthen bail rules for repeat and violent offenders and impose tougher sentencing provisions aimed at improving public safety.The city says the legislation reflects key concerns it has raised at the fe...

The province is gearing up for what it calls a "challenging wildfire season ahead."The B.C. Government gave a seasonal drought and wildfire update Tuesday, June 16, during which there were warnings that conditions could lead to incidents across the province over the summer."Summer temperatures are being ...

UPDATED 6:55 p.m.There was continued good news Tuesday evening for the hundreds of residents impacted by the fast-moving Kalamoir Park Wildfire in West Kelowna.The Central Okanagan Emergency Operations Centre declared the approximately 357 households previously evacuated in the Casa Loma and Lakeview Heights areas, cou...

Visitors to Revelstoke Mountain Resort can now experience a new high-altitude attraction featuring a suspension bridge, viewing platform and forest trail overlooking the Columbia Valley.The resort's Skywalk attraction officially opens this week, offering guests access to a series of viewpoints more than 1,600 metres ab...

Interior Health has taken steps to strengthen pediatric care at Kelowna General Hospital following a seven-week service interruption in 2025.The health authority released an independent review Tuesday that examined workplace and system challenges contributing to the disruption. The review, conducted by Harbour West Con...

Update 2:45 p.m. WednesdayThe Evacuation Order in relation to the wildfire near Stump Lake was downgraded Wednesday.The Thompson-Nicola Regional District removed the Evacuation Order but the Alerts remained in effect.The fire sparked Tuesday morning and burnt 149 hectares of terrain before being deemed as Being Held We...

A young man is dead and two people are injured after a serious crash on Westside Road that occurred Monday afternoon.Vernon North Okanagan RCMP, along with Emergency Health Services and the Okanagan Indian Band Fire Department, were called out for a report of a fatal crash on the road near the intersection with Lawrenc...

Greater Vernon continued to see declines in the housing construction sector in the fifth month of 2026.Canada Mortgage and Housing Corporation (CMHC) said there were 19 housing starts locally in May of 2026, which was down from 21 starts recorded in the same month the year before.The projects started this past May incl...

Kelowna voters heading into this October's municipal election will see a faster check-in process after the city adopted the provincial voters list for the first time.City council has approved the move, which allows election workers to verify voter information using Elections BC data instead of relying solely on local r...

Penticton's downtown camera program is being credited with improving public safety as officials prepare to expand surveillance coverage across key city corridors.The Remote Guard Camera Program, presented to Penticton council, is operated by the Penticton and Wine Country Chamber of Commerce with city funding support a...

B.C. The Highway Patrol (BCHP) is running a shorter impaired-driving campaign this summer. The crackdown on drivers under the influence of drugs or alcohol began Monday, June 15 and will run to July 31, instead of going to Aug. 31 as it has in past years.BCHP said the change aligns with data that shows when people are ...

The man who was the subject of a widespread search has been located, deceased.Thirty-two-year-old Mitchell Gowing was last seen at his workplace June 9, and was reported missing by concerned family members who told police saying his disappearance was considered out of character.Kelowna RCMP said the body of the missing...

The City of Kelowna has shut down a downtown alley behind Lawrence Avenue for the summer, citing ongoing public safety concerns and heavy demand on emergency and enforcement resources.The closure began Thursday morning at 7 a.m. as city crews moved to restrict access to the area.In an email to media, the city said the ...

The Okanagan Basin Water Board is urging people to not let recent rainfall dissuade them from conserving water.The water protection advocates said the rain in May and early June was welcome, but also said it wasn't enough to replenish the local reservoirs or offset the slowing of stream flows.The OBWB pointed out that ...

Search crews are continuing efforts to locate a missing Kelowna man in the Lake Country area.Kelowna RCMP say members of Central Okanagan Search and Rescue resumed searching Friday morning between Pelmewash Parkway and Spion Kop Mountain after a vehicle linked to the missing man was found nearby.Thirty-two-year-old Mit...

Door-to-door mail delivery is being phased out in parts of Kelowna, West Kelowna and Westbank First Nation as Canada Post moves ahead with a national shift to community mailboxes.The change is part of a broader rollout announced June 11 that will see hundreds of thousands of addresses across Canada transitioned next ye...

There will be rolling road restrictions in southeast Kelowna Saturday morning.That's for the Kelowna Wine Country Half Marathon, beginning at the intersection of Rose Rd. and McCullough Rd. and finishing on the lakefront promenade outside the Delta Grand Okanagan Hotel.The course travels along a series of southeast Kel...

Vernon had its second month this year with no illicit drug deaths.The B.C. Coroners Service said there were no deaths linked to toxic drugs in Vernon in April, building off a February that also saw no such deaths.As of the end of April the North Okanagan city had seen just four deaths associated with illicit substances...