Wed. June 14 - Locals mad at $45 trail fee

Good morning !

Today we have two stories on which routes people are allowed to use to get where they’re going. The first covers the timeline now being given for the reopening of Highway 4, which has been closed due to fire. The second covers the closure of Bear Mountain trails to non-residents unless they pay $45—a controversial limit that we first covered two years ago when it was being planned.

Read the latest below, and let us know what you think!

NEWS

Highway 4 will partly reopen next weekend and fully reopen in a month

While the Cameron Bluffs fire continues to burn near the essential commuter route, the Ministry of Transportation is looking to reopen Highway 4 to limited traffic as early as June 24. The highway has been closed since June 6, forcing drivers to take the hours-long—and precarious—detour. This detour will remain available until Highway 4 is cleared to reopen to usual traffic.

The return of travellers to Highway 4 will happen in phases, starting with single-lane, alternating traffic. A full reopening is not expected until mid-July.

There are still concerns about the stability of trees and slopes near the edge of the highway, though a temporary load-bearing wall will be constructed along the eastbound lane to protect the roads. There will also be mesh hung from cranes to prevent any falling rocks or trees.

Cameron Bluffs fire now under control

While still a fire of note, it is now considered to be held at its current size of 254 hectares. The only other currently burning Island wildfire is Newcastle Creek near Sayward, which is also being held at 208 hectares and is unlikely to spread.

Both of those fires are suspected to be human-caused—and it’s expected that most of this summer’s Island wildfires will be, since few storms are expected (which exacerbates the dry conditions that fuels these fires). Fire officials have asked locals to take fire precautions when smoking, operating yard machinery, or camping.

Capital Bulletin

☀️ Today's weather: Sunny. High 20C / low 11C.

🌫️ Air quality: Low risk today (3/10); The smoke over BC may graze the South Island.  

🚢 Japanese navy ships will dock at CFB Esquimalt: Two vessels, Kashima and Hatakaze, will be at the navy base for overseas training, June 15-18.

🚧 Highway 4 expected to reopen mid-July: A detour will remain in place while crews continue to remove debris and unsafe trees near Cameron Lake Bluffs.

👀 Endangered white pelicans spotted in North Saanich: More than 60 were recorded in a rare sighting near the airport. [CTV]

NEWS

Locals angered at $45 fee on Bear Mountain

Bear Mountain has been heavily criticized the past few weeks, as it begins to implement fees for non-residents to pay when accessing the property, leaving locals feeling confused and exploited.

Mount Finlayson’s trails, which are considered part of Goldstream Provincial Park, go through Bear Mountain properties and have always been free to access. For years the beautiful walking trails have been used by visitors and locals, like Kimberley Falconer. Her entire family uses the trail for a quick shortcut to other neighbourhoods—her son makes a journey of just 10 minutes from their lower Highlands home to his friend’s house in Haddington almost every week.

Out on a walk with her family one morning, a security guard pulled Falconer’s family aside and told her that Bear Mountain was now asking non-residents to pay a fee to access the property, leaving her extremely frustrated.

“So my son can't walk up to his friend's house in the higher neighbourhood now unless he has a $45 pass,” says Falconer. “Up at the top of Haddington, it's still the Highlands community.”

The new fee is being called a waiver by Bear Mountain, and allows access to not only trails, but also the facilities; despite this access, many residents do not want to pay the waiver to only use the trails.

Now, locals across the area are rallying over the lack of clarity, communication, and publicity of this fee, putting the private owners of Bear Mountain in hot water.

Read the full story at The Westshore.

NEWS

Esquimalt apartments evacuated after wall collapses in nearby excavation

Evacuees of 656 Admirals and 665 Constance were taken to Archie Browning centre on Tuesday morning after a parking lot partly collapsed into the neighbouring construction site.

Esquimalt’s fire chief told CHEK that excavators had been “digging a big hole” 30 feet deep and building shoring walls, but one wall collapsed and brought down the nearby roadway, putting those neighbouring buildings at risk. He said there were no injuries and that the process went smoothly, partly due to the site supervisor making the right call early on.

Some residents told CBC that before Tuesday’s “sinkhole” they had seen cracks emerge for the past two weeks, and felt shaking even when construction in the neighbouring lot wasn’t happening—but their concerns weren’t heeded.

This evacuation comes less than two months after Langford’s RidgeView Place, formerly Danbrook One, was evacuated for the second time over continued seismic concerns.

In 2020, a truck was partly swallowed by a small sinkhole in Esquimalt during flooding.

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Capital Picks

🎸 Bryan Adams coming to Victoria: The Canadian singer/songwriter will perform at Save-On Foods Memorial Centre on Sept. 9.

🎺 Mamaskatch Jazz Project at Hermann’s Jazz Club: To celebrate the release of their new album Gershwin meets Jobim the group will be joined by baritone Darrel McLeod to perform tonight, 5:30pm. [Tickets]

🖼️ Becky Holuk at The Avenue Gallery: The Calgary-based artist will show her acrylic painting at the gallery June 14-21. Her paintings depict the West Coast and the Canadian Rockies.

In Other News

🏅 UVic ranks #9 in world for sustainable development
The university was also third in Canada in the Times Higher Education (THC) Impact Rankings, which assessed 1,500 universities worldwide on their actions on the UN’s 17 Sustainable Development Goals. UVic ranked first in Canada for climate action and fourth in the world for sustainable cities and communities.

🐬 Island zoologist monitoring endangered vaquita porpoise
Conservation efforts undertaken by a team of international scientists, including Islander Anna Hall, have been aiding the population stabilization of the most endangered marine mammal. [CHEK]

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Quazar’s Pop-up Arcade now open at the Bay Centre

Quazar’s Arcade has brought back the 80s and 90s to the Bay Centre! On now until July 4, find fan favourites such as Space Invaders Frenzy, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles, Mario Bros, Ms Pac-Man, Galaga, Donkey Kong, Final Fight, and Arkanoid.

Get those high-score bragging rights before it's too late!

In Case You Missed It

✈️ Swoop airlines shutting down: The budget airline will be absorbed by parent company WestJet, which says it will maintain some affordable seats. Existing flights will continue until October. Read more on what that will mean for YYJ at Capital Daily.

📰 Tuesday’s newsletter: Island health projects receive grants, Port Alberni nurse barred from practice, Victoria teams race to Alaska, and more. [June 13]

🏥 Health minister to tour struggling Island hospitals: To assess staffing shortages and other crises firsthand, Adrian Dix says he will visit BC hospitals this summer, including the Island’s struggling ERs.

💪 DEXA body composition scans. Visceral fat, muscle mass, and bone density are powerful health metrics that you can change. Book now with Tall Tree Health.*

🌭 What’s open late? A roundup of Victoria’s rare after-midnight dining options. [Tasting Victoria]

📰 Monday’s newsletter: How wildfire road closures are affecting people. Victoria’s wettest day in four months. Operation Trackshoes ends. And more! [June 12]

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