The Yukon government has rescinded an evacuation alert for the area around Ethel Lake, but the nearby wildfire that prompted the advisory on June 24 continues to burn out of control.

It says Ethel Lake Road will be open only to local traffic and the Ethel Lake campground will remain closed as it is being used to stage wildland fire crews who continue to work in the area.

RCMP are hailing the conviction and sentencing of man in Nigeria who tried to blackmail a Surrey, B.C., teenager by posting his intimate images online, saying “sextortions and fraud” will not be tolerated by society.

Nigeria’s Economic and Financial Crimes Commission said Olukeye Adedayo was sentenced last week to prison terms totalling 76 years, after offences that the RCMP said resulted in the boy’s “sudden death” in February 2023.

Two of the three most significant wildfires in British Columbia have been downgraded and are no longer considered fires of note.

They include the 263-square-kilometre Kiskatinaw River wildfire in northeastern B.C., which was deemed on Wednesday to be no longer out of control.

Mounties in British Columbia’s Interior say human remains found last month have been confirmed as being a woman who went missing near Sicamous nearly eight years ago.

They say the remains were discovered on a rural property in Salmon Arm on May 5, and the BC Coroners Service has since linked them to Nicole Bell.

There’s optimism from firefighters and local authorities as crews battle blazes in opposite corners of British Columbia heading into the weekend.

The District of Squamish is reporting minimal overnight growth in the Dryden Creek fire that triggered a local state of emergency this week, while the BC Wildfire Service expects rain to help suppress the Pocket Knife Creek wildfire in the northeast.

The mayor of Squamish, B.C., said he knew it was a stressful time for residents, as an out-of-control wildfire burns in hills above the community where a local state of emergency was declared this week.

But Armand Hurford said crews are making good progress and the community north of Vancouver is not in immediate danger.

Environment Canada has warned of an “early season heat event” across much of southern British Columbia starting Saturday and persisting into early next week.

The weather office issued more than 30 special weather statements heading into the weekend, saying a ridge of high pressure will bring elevated temperatures that could reach the low 30s on the coast and the mid-30s inland.