The fast-moving fire that pushed people out of Summerland and Peachland is just one of several wildfires that has threatened communities and destroyed homes in the province this summer.

Of the more than 100 wildfires burning in the province, almost half of them are out of control, fuelled by hot and windy weather and long-standing drought conditions.

Eby says some people became trapped by the fire and needed to be rescued, and search and rescue efforts continue behind the fire lines for anyone else who may have been caught.

Cliff Chapman, the director of wildfire operations with BC Wildfire Services, says firefighting helicopters were instead used for search and rescue operations for those who could no longer get out.

He says fire conditions in the province are “explosive” and we may see more wildfires similar to the one that forced the evacuation of the entire community of Summerland.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Aug. 8, 2026.

The Nanaimo area’s jobless rate for for a third straight month to 6.4 per cent, down from 7.4 per cent in May.

The unemployment rate was as high as 8.7 per cent in Nanaimo in April.

BC Jobless rate fell in July to 6.2 per cent from 6.5 per cent the prior month as Canada’s job numbers beat economists’ expectations.

Ravi Kahlon, the province’s jobs and economic growth minister, relayed in a statement that the province added almost 18,000 jobs to outperform adverse economic conditions brought on by U-S tariffs and global trade uncertainty.

Nationally, Statistics Canada reported the country added 75,000 jobs last month, pushing the jobless rate fell to 6.4 per cent, its lowest point in two years.

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As of July 7, the B.C. drought portal had eastern Vancouver Island, encompassing areas north of Campbell River down to Sooke, at a drought level two out of five, down from levels of four and five at the start of June.

Meteorologist with Environment Canada Brian Proctor said other parts of the island saw a very different story last month.

“If we start off down in Victoria, it was drier than normal, and then as we start getting up into Nanaimo, normal again, and then got to Comox/Campbell River, it was wetter than normal, so really an interesting month.”

Drought conditions in the central and southern interior remain around levels three or four with high water scarcity levels as wildfires continue to burn out of control in the Thompson-Nicola Regional District and surrounding area. (Image Credit: B.C. Drought Portal)

With a mean temperature of 18.7 degrees Celsius and 107 per cent of our usual precipitation, July 2026 was on par for an average month of Nanaimo weather, despite a few days of record-breaking high temperatures.

Compared to Comox and Campbell River, where each community received 183 per cent of their regular rainfall last month, 43.6 and 60.6 millimetres respectively, with the mean temperature right around average for both communities.

Western Vancouver Island is currently at drought level zero, down from level two in June, with most areas of northern B.C. reporting similar conditions.

Proctor said there are a few reasons for the discrepancy in weather conditions from one side of the island to the other, with geography and the time of year playing a big part.

“The mountains on the island help to give us a bit of a rain shadow on the east side, and the precip wasn’t as substantial as it would be if it was a November or December kind of storm when that moisture would have been able to surface on the east side of the island. It was the outer coast of the west side of the island, and the northern tip of the island that took the brunt of all that precipitation.”

Looking ahead for the rest of the summer, Proctor said their weather patterns are predicting less rain and slightly above-normal temperatures into the fall for much of eastern Vancouver Island, from Nanaimo up to Campbell River.

“Which means the forest fire hazard out there that we’re seeing is not going to. It’s probably going to worsen a little bit as we move through August before we get into September.”

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Xiaohua (Jessica) Liu, born 1977, was fined $4,500 in a provincial court in Courtenay on July 7, after being found guilty during trial of making a false or misleading statement and being in unlawful possession of oysters, according to an Aug. 7, news release from Fisheries and Oceans Canada (DFO).

Three others, Ya Chung Lao, born 1960, Yilai Zhu, born 1993, and Chun Shui Tu, born 1973, were also fined after pleading guilty to several Fisheries Act violations in a Vancouver court in 2024.

The convictions were published online after charges were officially filed last November, stemming from inspections conducted by DFO on Aug. 26, 2023, near Deep Bay.

Ilegally harvested clams were confiscated by DFO officers and used as evidence in court during the trial. (Image Credit: DFO)

In the release, DFO said some of the accused failed to appear in court, resulting in arrest warrants being issued for Liu and Lao in 2025 and 2024, respectively.

Lao was fined $7,000 for obstructing a fishery officer and purchasing, selling or possessing illegally caught oysters, and was prohibited from fishing for a year.

Tu and Zhu were fined $3,000 and $3,500 respectively after they pleaded guilty to harvesting oysters without a license and purchasing, selling or possessing illegally caught oysters.

Lao had until the end of 2025 to pay the fine, while Tu and Zhu were ordered to pay up by the end of 2024.

Licenses are required to legally participate in the recreational oyster fishery in the province, with a daily catch limit of twelve.

More information on shellfish harvesting can be found here on the DFO’s website.

— With files from Ian Holmes and The Canadian Press.

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Thirty-six drivers were handed some form of suspension of their driving privileges during traffic stops from BC Highway Patrol officers during the Sunfest Country Music Festival in Lake Cowichan, running July 30 through Aug. 2.

Sgt. Michael McLaughlin said officers were stationed along key access routes to the festival and saw a “totally unacceptable” number of people driving impaired.

“Police are going to use a variety of tactics when we look at these big events. Obviously, there are certain routes that people have to take in and out of the festivals, and that’s where we’re going to be. You know we’re going to be there, so plan ahead, make sure you’re sober when you’re driving. The idea is to keep the event safe and fun and avoid tragic consequences, which we see far too often.”

Nineteen drivers were issued a 72-hour immediate roadside prohibition for registering a ‘warn’ on a roadside screening device for alcohol consumption.

Another nine lost their license for 90 days for registering a ‘fail’ on the device.

Another six 24-hour suspensions were issued, mostly to those impaired by drugs while behind the wheel, while two learner or novice drivers received a 12-hour ban due to having any level of drugs or alcohol in their system.

The 36 drivers caught during this year’s festival set a new record high for officers, beating 2024’s 24 impaired driving offences.

Eleven prohibitions were issued last year.

McLaughlin said 153 tickets were also issued under the motor vehicle act for a myriad of offences, including speeding, failing to yield, having an unroadworthy vehicle, or violating the conditions of a driver’s license.

Enforcement by BC Highway Patrol is expected to continue through the rest of the summer months, including the use of Mandatory Alcohol Screening on area highways.

“Some people still aren’t aware that we do not require suspicion,” McLaughlin told NanaimoNewsNOW. “If you’re driving, we can demand a breath sample simply because you’re behind the wheel, and that’s a good way to make sure our roads are safer.”

Officer in Charge of BC Highway Patrol, Insp. Adam Tallboy said the numbers collected from this year’s festival show “outrageously poor decision-making” and they’ll “use whatever legal tools we have to improve this situation.”

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The team finished with a 30-24 record, on the back of a 15-8 win over Kamloops on Wednesday, Aug.4, with their final record good for fourth in the North Division.

Coach Cody Andreychuk is delighted to see the organization make the playoffs for the first time in the team’s five year history.

“I’m proud of the guys, proud of the organization, and happy for the fans that they’re going to see meaningful playoff baseball in Nanaimo.”

Nanaimo will play the Bellingham Bells in a best of three series beginning Friday, Aug. 7 at Serauxmen Stadium, with the series continuing south of the border on Saturday, Aug. 8 and, if necessary, Sunday, Aug. 9.

Andreychuk reflected on a very even regular season series with Bellingham which included three games at home and three games away.

“We ended up going down there, we lost the series but we had a really big lead going into the ninth in one of those games, that’s probably the game that haunts me the most. Then we won the series up at Serauxmen so we went 3-3.”

Nanaimo’s coach believes having success in the postseason involves the same recipe as garnering wins in the regular campaign.

“We’re going to have to do the little things right and really it comes to down to starting pitching, it’s been like that all year. If we get a good start on the mound from our starters, we’ve got enough bullpen pieces to finish up the games.”

One of the key reasons the NightOwls are in the playoffs is the performance of outfielder Ethan Reynolds.

He hit a critical grand slam in the regular season finale Wednesday night, and set the league record for both the number of extra base hits with 36 and the most doubles with 29.

“He’s had the best season in NightOwls history, and I think he’s the MVP of the league…I don’t even think it’s close,” Andreychuk said.

The first pitch in the NightOwls inaugural playoff game goes at 6:35 p.m. on Friday and the team will be hosting a watch party at Serauxmen Stadium for the their road game on Saturday which also starts at 6:35 p.m.

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This week the opening of the raised and separated bike lane on the north side of Hammond Bay Rd. between Brickyard and Turner roads signalled substantial completion of a notable road renewal project.

Jamie Rose, the City of Nanaimo’s transportation manager, said vital underground water and sewer lines required replacement, as did the traffic signals at the Turner and Rutherford road intersections.

“We took the opportunity to deal with those as well as kind of touch-up and improve the walking and biking facilities wherever we could along the corridor,” Rose told NanaimoNewsNOW.

A new sidewalk joins a raised bike lane on the north side of Hammond Bay Rd. between Brickyard and Turner roads. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Launched over a year ago, prolonged periods of single-lane alternating traffic flows were implemented during prime spring and summer construction periods over the past two years for road resurfacing.

Rose said the City heard from frustrated motorists, including some stuck in traffic jams.

He said some people questioned the rationale behind the project.

Rose emphasized the underground utility work was the core reason behind the initiative budgeted at nearly $6 million. Contractors addressed Hammond Bay Rd. between Rutherford and Turner roads, while work extended south on Turner Rd. to Kenning Pl.

The Hammond Bay Rd./Turner Rd. intersection includes standardized active mobility enhancements, which is heavily used by Dover Bay Secondary School students. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

Minor boulevard landscaping and roadway painting still needs to be done.

The intersection at the base of Rutherford Rd. was modernized and narrowed, with the right-turning lane from Hammond Bay Rd. up the Rutherford Rd. hill removed.

Rose said maintaining the long-established right-turn lane was not justified, calling it a “low-volume movement” direction of travel.

The re-vamped Hammond Bay Rd./Rutherford Rd. intersection has been functioning since mid-May.

The removal of the right-turn lane at Rutherford Rd. is the only vehicular movement change to the revamped intersection. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

While more information will emerge in the months and years ahead, Rose said the addressed section of Hammond Bay Rd. is more functional for all road users, including the need to reduce speeds.

“It’s not really fair to assess things mid-stream and it’s really important to wait until the product is done to cast judgment on it,” Rose told NanaimoNewsNOW. “I think the plan that was derived and executed is fulfilling its intent.”

The City had hoped to add a roundabout at the Hammond Bay/Brickyard intersection, but escalating costs nixed the plan in June.

Soaring costs shelved the planned roundabout at the Hammond Bay Rd./Brickyard Rd. City transportation manager Jamie Rose said the device could be installed at some point in the future.

Rose expects to present their annual round of Active Transportation Unallocated projects to Nanaimo City Council next month.

He said there could be a small attachment to the Hammond Bay/Brickyard intersection.

“If there’s an opportunity to take another step in the future, we’ll obviously exercise that, but for now we’re going to continue to monitor.”

Nanaimo’s only other significant road construction project of the season is taking place on Third St. between Howard Ave. and the Pine St. intersection.

A “Complete Street” is being established, similar to the project on Metral Dr. completed late in 2022, albeit on a much smaller scale.

Raised and separated bike lanes on both sides of Third St., numerous active transportation features, and a redesigned Third St./Pine St. intersection are surface-level additions on top of underground utility replacements.

Rose expects the Third St. overhaul will be substantially completed and the roadway re-opened in early September.

Work began last fall.

Rose said the City has focused heavily on making Nanaimo a safer and easier place for pedestrians and those on all forms of wheels to get around the city.

“I’m really looking forward to seeing what the Census data tells us when it comes out next year with respect to mode shift and how people are navigating through our community because I think in the last almost eight years we’ve been investing a huge amount in those areas.”

View of Hammond Bay Rd. from the Turner Rd. intersection looking toward Brickyard Rd. (Image Credit: Ian Holmes/NanaimoNewsNOW)

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The 2026 Nanaimo Fringe Festival takes place from Thursday, Aug. 6 until Aug. 16, with performances split between the Port Theatre and St. Andrews United Church at 315 Fitzwilliam St.

Put on by the Pacific Coast Stage Company, artistic producer Yvette Dudley-Neuman said almost 100 performances will be part of their 16th year.

“We have 18 different shows. So that’s an expansion from last year. Last year we had 14 shows, and those shows will come out to 97 performances, which sounds weird, but most of them have five performances.”

A diverse list of performances takes place in Nanaimo’s downtown and Old City Quarter during Fringe Festival. (Image Credit: Nanaimo Fringe Festival)

Performances this year include a show from a Swiss group titled “Embarrassed Naked Female,” putting on three performances this weekend, billed as “a lecture-performance built like a forensic thriller”.

‘PTS TEA’ is about a Métis Cree mother and her daughters navigating their past trauma through “dark humour, culture, and fierce love,” according to the festival guidebook.

It’s one of two performances paid for through a scholarship program.

Dudley-Neuman said their Fringe Buttons work as the “festival passport,” allowing you into performances and official events, with artists receiving 100 per cent of their ticket revenue.

“The five-dollar button gets you into 16 different events with just that button. The staged reading by Lisa Webster is called “One More Time for Those in the Back”, and it’s a micro rant on microaggression, and her stage reading only happens once. So if people want to see it, they’ve got to come to the button event.”

A look at the iconic green Fringe Buttons from 2025. (Image Credit: Nanaimo Fringe Festival on Facebook.)

She said utilizing St. Andrews United Church allows them to have an office to work out of for the first time, along with an outdoor stage.

“For me, it’s very important because I use a cane, and my husband also has a disability, so I’m very aware of accessibility. And we really wanted to have all of our venues be accessible.”

Performances will also take place once again on the main and lobby stages inside the Port Theatre, a presenting partner for the event.

Nanaimo Fringe Festival’s free preview night is on Thursday starting at 7 p.m. at the Port Theatre, with a 100-person limit.

Tickets to the preview night are free, but you must still register first due to limited capacity.

Performers will also be out promoting their shows at the Commercial St. Night Market Thursday evening.

More information on the 2026 Nanaimo Fringe Festival can be found at Nanaimofringe.com.

Tickets can also be purchased through the Port Theatre box office.

Performer Alick Mac during the 2025 Nanaimo Fringe Festival. (Image Credit: Fringe Festival on Facebook)

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The most recent Rentals.ca Rent Report, published Thursday, Aug. 6, showed a 0.6 per cent drop year over year in rent for a one-bedroom apartment in Nanaimo, with an average price of $1,835.

It marks a long-awaited stabilization in the local market, as Nanaimo was consistently among a handful of cities across Canada to see considerable year-over-year increases, despite drops in most of the country.

A 4.5 per cent decrease was noted in B.C., and a four per cent drop occurred in Canada year-over-year for one-bedroom rentals.

Larger suites, however, saw an increase in Nanaimo with a 3.9 per cent jump for a two-bedroom apartment to $2,290 per month.

Similar bumps were noted in Toronto (1.1 per cent), North York (five per cent), Brampton (4.6 per cent) and Laval (11.8 per cent).

Across all rental types, Nanaimo was listed as the 27th most expensive rental market in Canada, with an average price of $2,092.

Victoria placed 14th at $2,307, and North Vancouver led Canada with a total average price of $3,039, the only municipality with an average price in excess of $3,000.

The nationwide drop of four per cent across all property types was the 22nd consecutive month of year-over-year decline for rent but also represented the smallest such drop since February 2026.

B.C.’s 4.5 per cent decrease was tied for best in Canada, joining Ontario, however the province remains the most expensive rental market nationwide.

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Ricky John Randell, 55, a former Uplands Walk tenant, was recently handed a six-month jail sentence following a trio of north Nanaimo break-ins, including two at the Uplands Dr. facility late last year.

Most notably, an agreed statement of facts heard Randell broke through the front door of Uplands Walk while armed with a crowbar last Nov. 25 around 3:30 a.m.

Randell then entered the manager’s office and stole a safe containing credit and gift cards, amounting to about $2,000 in losses.

The stolen cards were never recovered.

Nanaimo RCMP wasn’t alerted by Uplands Walk staff until about 9:30 a.m., court was told.

Operated by Pacifica Housing, on contract by BC Housing, the Crown corporation issued a statement to NanaimoNewsNOW, noting it takes concerns related to criminal incidents in its buildings very seriously.

“When significant incidents occur, BC Housing and the service provider review the circumstances to ensure appropriate action is taken and to identify any opportunity to strengthen safety and security measures.”

The statement didn’t expand on what actions, if any, were taken in response to the incident to improve security.

Also unknown is whether personal information was compromised, or if any tenants suffered financial losses due to Randell stealing credit cards.

BC Housing stated it can’t discuss specifics of the incident.

“We can confirm that Uplands Walk has a number of security measures in place including 24/7 staffing with two or more employees on site, a single main point of entry, and multiple security cameras.”

Pacifica Housing did not respond to previous requests for comment from NanaimoNewsNOW.

In addition to the Nov. 25 incident, Randell returned to Uplands Walk late on the evening of Dec. 6, 2025, where he used a screwdriver to pry open an exterior door.

Security footage suggested Randell did not gain entry and nothing was stolen, however, the unsecured door was not discovered until the morning of Dec. 8, court was told.

According to Pacifica Housing, Uplands Walk houses 34 units for people 45-years-old and up who have faced homelessness due to mental health and/or substance use disorders.

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