New affordable rental housing is coming for families, seniors, individuals and people living with disabilities in Castlegar as construction has started on 13 new homes in the community.

The Rocky Mountain Trench Ecosystem Restoration Program, in conjunction with the BC Wildfire Service, BC Parks and the Rocky Mountain Trench Natural Resources Society, plans to conduct a series of ecosystem restoration burns in the Premier Lake area.

In the interest of public safety, the BC Wildfire Service is temporarily closing a portion of the Beaverfoot Forest Service Road near the Whitetail Creek wildfire, which is burning just outside Kootenay National Park and about 40 kilometres north of Radium Hot Springs.

Several fires are burning throughout the Southeast Fire Centre as a result of the recent and ongoing lightning activity in the region.

The BC Wildfire Service would like to remind the public that Category 2 and Category 3 open fires remain prohibited in the Boundary, Arrow, Kootenay Lake, Invermere and Cranbrook fire zones due to current and forecasted weather conditions, and to help prevent human-caused wildfires and protect public safety.

BC Wildfire Service personnel, in conjunction with BC Parks, will be conducting a prescribed burn near the Blue Joint wildfire in Granby Provincial Park on Thursday, Sept. 28, 2017, weather permitting.

Due to recent changes in the weather and fire behaviour, the area restriction currently in effect around the White River and Quinn Creek wildfires will be rescinded at noon Pacific Time on Wednesday, Sept. 20, 2017.

With hot and dry conditions continuing in the East Kootenay region, the BC Wildfire Service is anticipating an increase in new wildfire activity and is monitoring growth on existing fires in the region today.

Effective immediately, areas beyond 50 metres of developed portions of Kikomun Creek Provincial Park and Premier Lake Provincial Park are closed to the public.

In the interest of public safety, the Regional District of East Kootenay has implemented a full evacuation order for the Moyie Lake area.