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Yukon wildfire remains out of control as Ethel Lake evacuation alert rescinded

Ethel Lake Road will be open only to local traffic and the Ethel Lake campground will remain closed, the Yukon government says.

The Yukon government has rescinded an evacuation alert for the area around Ethel Lake, but the nearby wildfire that prompted the advisory on June 24 continues to burn out of control.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

Nigerian judge convicts man of using intimate images to blackmail B.C. teen who died by suicide

The RCMP have said that the boy’s death followed what they called ‘financial sextortion.’

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.

B.C. downgrades status of two major wildfires in northeast

The Kiskatinaw River wildfire burns south of Dawson Creek, B.C. on June 5. There are currently about 85 wildfires actively burning in B.C. The Canadian Press/HO-B.C. Wildfire Service

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.

© HO

The Kiskatinaw River wildfire burns south of Dawson Creek, B.C. in this Thursday, June 5, 2025, handout photo. THE CANADIAN PRESS/HO, B.C. Wildfire Service *MANDATORY CREDIT*

Squamish, B.C., reports progress on wildfire fight, while rain expected in northeast

Smoke from the Dryden Creek Wildfire, north of Squamish, B.C., on Wednesday.

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.

Southern B.C. to be hit with ‘early season heat event’ over weekend, next week

People walk on tidal flats in Vancouver in 2023. Environment Canada warned of temperatures in the province that could reach the low 30s on the coast and the mid-30s inland.

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.

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