Effective at noon Pacific Time on Oct. 10, 2014, Category 3 open fires will once again be permitted in the entire Southeast Fire Centre, due to a decreased risk of wildfires.

The latest water samples from Quesnel Lake and Quesnel River are consistent with previous results and Interior Health reaffirms water located outside the impact zone remains safe to drink.

The Province has tendered a new woodlot east of Enderby, near Ashton Creek, a move that will help create job opportunities in the region.

Phytoplankton and zooplankton samples collected from Quesnel Lake between Aug. 8 and 13, 2014 are consistent with plankton samples in other similar large, deep lakes indicating the overall concentrations found are typical of large lakes with low levels of nutrients.

Effective at noon on Oct. 7, 2014, Category 3 open fires will once again be allowed in the Cariboo Fire Centre east of the Fraser River. However, Category 2 and Category 3 open fires remain prohibited west of the Fraser River.

The area restriction order that has been in place around the Mount McAllister wildfire was rescinded effective at noon (PDT) on Oct. 6, 2014, due to cooler weather and a subsequent decrease in fire activity.

There is a lot of buzz at Roderick Haig-Brown Park and no, it's not bees. Excavators and saws working on a multi-year construction project have left many new facilities, and the first of thousands of families have descended on the park to view the spawning salmon.

Following the busy camping season, the discovery of ancestral remains in the spring, and an agreement between the Province and the Osoyoos Indian Band (OIB), Haynes Point Park closed Oct. 1, 2014, for an archaeological inventory and assessment.

The work of the Conservation Officer Service's Major Investigations Unit has led to the conviction of Neucel Specialty Cellulose Ltd. for illegally discharging waste from their Port Alice pulp mill operation.

B.C.'s Environmental Assessment Office and the Canadian Environmental Assessment Agency will be jointly holding a 30-day public comment period, and public information sessions, regarding revised information requirements for the proposed Ajax mine.