Nov 24 - Search continues for orphaned bear cubs

Good morning !

A few of you have written in to ask for an update on the orphaned bear cubs in Sooke. You'll find one below in today's newsletter, along with the latest updates on the fallout from this past week's storms—and fires.

— Cam

Today’s approx. read time: 5 minutes

🌡️ Weather Forecast

Today: 🌧 8 / 5

Tomorrow: 🌧 7 / 4

Tuesday: ⛅ 7 / 2

NEWS

10 days after mother's death, rescue effort for Sooke cubs continues

The mother bear was hit by a vehicle on the Thursday before last, near West Coast Road, leaving a trio of cubs orphaned. Sooke wildlife organization Wild Wise said this week that the cubs were sheltering high up in a tree beside the water, in a hard-to-access area on private property, making their attempts to retrieve them unsuccessful. 

But the group later updated that the cubs had climbed down, and revealed that the tree had been in a steep area of the Sooke Basin. Initially the location was kept vague, to avoid anybody going there to try to see the bears. Wild Wise says it was a place to which the mother had often brought the cubs—a safe place for bears to stay, but not a safe place for bears to be tranquilizer-darted and fall.

The BC Conservation Service was concerned about the cubs in Tuesday's windstorm, and is looking for the public's help in finding them again. Wild Wise is asking only for real-time sightings to be reported to the RAPP line (1-877-952-7277), or to be contacted directly on Facebook. As of Saturday, the cubs had been seen near Townsend and Waddams.

If the cubs can be captured, conservation officers would take them to the North Island Wildlife Recovery Centre.

Wild Wise has also blamed the mother bear's death partly on locals not securing garbage and other attractants, saying that those bring bears closer to areas full of people—and cars.

Conservation officers say that this is not the same family of bears that has been frequently spotted in Colwood this fall. Read more at The Westshore.

⚠️ Capital Bulletin

70km/h winds possible in Haro Strait today

Mostly sun & cloud later this week.

Avalanche danger dips back to orange (“considerable") for much of Island after rising into the red on Friday.

BC Archives Awareness week wraps this weekend. [Info via Saanich]

Driving today? Check the current traffic situation via Google.

Support local journalism by supporting Capital Daily. Become a Capital Daily Insider member today and help bring local stories to life. 

NEWS

Power finally restored throughout South Island 

A handful of outages remain on Gabriola near Nanaimo and up-Island, per the BC Hydro map.

In some areas, crews were still tackling downed trees and other outage-causing damage from Tuesday when new warnings went out on Friday for another (but somewhat weaker) windstorm. 

Some 150,000 across the Island (300,000 in BC as a whole) lost power from Tuesday's storm, but the bulk had it restored within a day. But even on Friday morning there remained 10,000+ BC Hydro customers provincewide who were still without power. Those in remote parts of the Island were advised that they may not get full power restored until Saturday night.

On Gabriola Island, where thousands spent days without power, a few customers were still without it as of Sat. night. The community faces several outages per year, and this week locals were relying on generators, wood stoves, and stockpiles of food.

Outage lasted until weekend for some East Sooke residents 

Crews have been “bustin’ it day and night,” locals told CHEK, working around the clock and doing heavy overtime to address felled trees and tangled wires from Tuesday's storm. Residents, for their part, kept the crews fed.

This week the Westshore looked at how Sooke & beyond have been particularly affected—and often cut off from Greater Victoria—by recent major storms.

Video: Octopus vs. storm

It wasn't only on land that the windstorm was felt. At Folger Pinnacle near Bamfield, video from UVic-based Ocean Networks Canada shows an octopus holding desperately on to an undersea rock.

ocean_networks

View more on Instagram

SPONSORED BY PHS COMMUNITY SERVICES SOCIETY

Housing and harm reduction save lives

A charity that provides housing for people experiencing homelessness in Victoria has launched its Giving Tuesday gift matching campaign.

PHS Community Services Society provides low-barrier supportive housing, shelter and harm reduction to thousands of marginalized people in Victoria and Vancouver every day. 

They came to Victoria in 2016 to bring people in encampments inside, and have been doing just this ever since, supporting people with a variety of acute health needs.

This year, thanks to an anonymous gift-matching donor, your Giving Tuesday generosity will go twice as far.

Online donations will be matched to a total of $5,000 until midnight on Giving Tuesday (Tuesday, Dec. 3). Funds raised will provide basic essentials for people experiencing homelessness.

Please donate today.

⭐️ Capital Picks

 ❄ Langford 2024 Winter Festival lineup announced. [Dec. 7]

🛋 Groovy pad: A fantastic 1974 living room in Cobble Hill. [Facebook photos]

🌱 Island flora: Purple spindles in Alert Bay. [Facebook photos]

🎂 Esquimalt baker reaches finale of Great Canadian Baking Show. Click the box below to watch a recap of the journey so far for local Jennifer Childs, and tune in to tonight's Season 8 finale to see if she wins the national amateur baking crown. Watch previous episodes on CBC Gem. You can also read Tasting Victoria's interview with Childs.

🗞️ In Other News

Passenger dies on #15 bus in Esquimalt 
Few details are available so far, but paramedics tries without success to help the person while the bus was parked near Red Barn. [CHEK]

Embers from Saanich blaze damage neighbouring dog charity 
The Victoria Bulldog Society is seeking help with both the smoke damage to its building, which was beside this week's Quadra fire, and care for the dogs it currently has. The emergency has derailed its usual fundraising efforts, the head of the volunteer-run society says. [Saanich News]

Fire shuts one of Campbell River's two high schools 
The A wing of Carihi High was damaged by Thursday's blaze but fire doors kept the B wing mostly safe. Its approx. 1,000 students will stay home Monday; online or rotating clases are options going forward. [CBC]

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In-person, over-the-phone, or virtual appointments that are easy to book and never rushed. Extras like developmental milestone checks and an annual Dexa body composition scan. It’s wonderful care for families. Get started with Sprout.

🗓️ Things to do

😊 Raffi: North America’s preeminent family entertainer returned to the stage last year with a series of #belugagrads concerts, in which people who grew up singing his songs now bring their own kids to listen and sing together. Royal Theatre. 2pm. [Info]

🎄The Storybook Nutcracker: Ballet Étoile. After receiving an unusual Christmas gift, Clara is swept away on a magical adventure to the Kingdom of the Sweets. Charlie White Theatre. 2pm & 6pm. [Info] 

🎻 Victoria Symphony presents: Kluxen-Liszt & Lieder. Poetry, mystical texts, and an angelic altarpiece tie together this program of divine inspiration. The Farquhar at UVic. 2:30pm. [Info]

🌟 NOL: Night of Lights at Hillside Shopping Centre. When you purchase a $5 ticket you’ll experience an evening of shopping, entertainment, appetizers, and the chance to win fabulous door prizes including a $1K shopping spree. Hillside. 6-9:30pm tonight. [Info]

🌲 Yuletide Market at Bilston Creek Farm on Fri. / Sat. / Sun. until mid-Dec. 90+ local businesses showcasing their products, food vendors, live music, and more.

👀 In Case You Missed It

Case of teen's death has been reopened by Major Crimes Unit. [Sat. newsletter]

Early tourism indicators strong for 2025, with plenty of city-wide conferences already booked. [Capital Daily]

Friday news: Contaminants in Tod Creek. Where to hold your holiday work party. Brawl at the mall. [Fri. newsletter]

Some sailings were delayed on Friday due to high winds, but there were no cancellations on Swartz Bay to Vancouver route. 

Lights of Wonder turned on in Centennial Square on Nov. 30. [DVBA]