British Columbia’s fire season is still under way: smoke from wildfires is again blanketing the south of Vancouver Island, and the head of the evacuated First Nation is warning that the situation has not eased—“the emergency isn’t over.” Against this backdrop, CBC is launching a tournament to crown the province’s best roadside attraction—from giant capes to the “Zero Mile” marker—reminding people of the small wonders along the sides of the road.
Searching for the best roadside attraction in British Columbia: the tournament for Vancouver Island gets under way
Every summer, CBC British Columbia runs something like a game for its readers: pick the best in the province—first the best small town, then a lake, then a symbol, and now it’s time for roadside attractions. These are the odd, tender, and sometimes absurd objects that line highways and tempt travelers to pull over, take photos, and spend a little money at a local café or motel. The organizers received more than 300 entries and selected 32, dividing the province into four regions: Vancouver Island, the southwest of British Columbia, the Interior, and the North. Each week in August, readers vote for one region, and then the four winners meet in a final that determines the champion before Labour Day. The first round focuses on Vancouver Island, where eight contenders are competing for a spot in the next stage—from the largest giant cape in the world (a growth on a tree) in Port McNeill to the “Zero Mile” marker at the end of the Trans-Canada Highway.
The history of roadside attractions in British Columbia, as explained by historian Ben Bradley, author of British Columbia by the Road: Car Culture and the Making of a Modern Landscape, goes back to the mid-20th century. That was when the era of rail travel began to decline, while mass car ownership, on the other hand, took off. People started driving across the country, and a real competition erupted among business owners for tourists’ attention—and their wallets. Some attractions were created to draw people into a specific business; others were free and served as a public good, but in both cases the logic is simple: a person pulls over, buys lunch, and may even stay overnight at a roadside motel. So a giant gnome, a golden frying pan, a lake, or a waterfall isn’t just decoration—it’s part of a carefully planned travel economy.
Bradley notes with some irony that in such tournaments everything gets mixed on the same cultural playing field: serious museums sit alongside enormous peaches with eyes, cliffs, and goats grazing on a rooftop. That may be the main charm of these rankings—they show that, for travelers, both historical heritage and pure commercial kitsch are equally valuable. In an article published on the CBC News site, it’s noted that unique roadside attractions can be found on Vancouver Island, in the north of the province, in small towns throughout the Interior, and in almost any place around Hope. The only question is which one is truly the best.
Voting for the first round is open until 8:00 p.m. Pacific time on Monday, and readers are invited to make their choice. The organizers emphasize that this is a summer tradition that brings people together for a fun argument about what makes a place truly memorable. Perhaps it’s these silly and lovable objects that best capture the character of a region—its geography, history, and commercial ingenuity. And while there will ultimately be only one winner, the tournament itself has already become a reason to remember the small wonders waiting at the edges of big roads.
Wildfire smoke is expected to return over southern Vancouver Island on Monday
Residents of southern Vancouver Island and the Greater Victoria area will once again be able to smell the smoke and see a haze on the horizon: according to Environment Canada’s FireWork smoke-prediction model, a layer of wildfire smoke is expected to move over the region starting around 11 a.m. on Monday and linger into the early hours of Tuesday. This isn’t a forecast of real measured air quality, but rather a model prediction designed to estimate how smoke plumes may spread. Based on current FireRadar.ca data, concentrations of fine particulate matter (PM2.5) are expected to be relatively low—between one and forty micrograms per cubic meter. Even so, these levels can be noticeable for people with sensitive respiratory systems.
The return of smoke coincides with a significant uptick in wildfire activity in British Columbia. According to the BC Wildfire Service, there are currently 129 wildfires burning across the province, with 35 of them starting in the last 24 hours. Over the same period, 17 fires were brought under control, and over the past week, 114. On Sunday, responders reported “aggressive fire behavior”: an intense weather system brought the south of the province gusty winds up to 80 km/h and thunderstorms, seriously complicating firefighting efforts—both at active fire sites and when attacking newly started wildfires. Meteorologists warn that hot, dry, and windy conditions will return as early as next week, increasing the risk of fires growing and the development of so-called “smoldering” fires—hot spots caused by lightning that can burn unnoticed and flare up again under hotter, drier conditions.
At this time, no air-quality advisory has been issued for Vancouver Island, but provincial authorities have already released warnings for several interior regions, including the area around 100 Mile House, North Thompson, East Kootenay, Elk Valley, Kootenay Lake, and West Kootenay. Significant deterioration in visibility and air quality is expected there over the next 24 to 48 hours due to smoke. Medical professionals remind people that if smoke becomes noticeable, they should scale back outdoor activities—especially those at higher risk, including older adults, children, pregnant people, and anyone with heart or lung conditions.
It’s worth clarifying that PM2.5 refers to tiny airborne particles with a diameter of less than 2.5 micrometres that can penetrate deep into the lungs and cause serious health problems even after short-term inhalation. The FireWork model mentioned here is a forecasting tool based on weather data and known burn locations, so it does not replace monitoring stations—it only provides an approximate picture for the next few hours. “Smoldering” fires are among the most deceptive problems: they can burn underground or in tree roots for long periods, then break through when conditions become favorable.
BC Wildfire Service asks anyone who notices smoke or fire to report it immediately by calling 1-800-663-5555, by dialing *5555 on a mobile phone, or through the official mobile app. As noted in a CHEK News report, the situation remains changeable, and people in coastal areas should keep an eye on updates to forecasts and local authorities’ recommendations—especially when windy and hot weather returns.
“The emergency isn’t over”: the head of an evacuated First Nation in British Columbia describes the wildfire situation
A wildfire known as the Bradley Creek fire, which broke out near Vernon, British Columbia, forced authorities to issue a mandatory evacuation order for the Okanagan Indian Band Reserve on August 1, 2026. Addressing residents and the media, the head of this First Nation emphasized that—even with some progress against the fire—there’s no need to relax yet: “the emergency isn’t over.” The statement sounded like a warning to anyone who may have already started to hope for a quick return to normal life.
The Okanagan Indian Band is a First Nations community of the Salish people, whose lands are historically located in the Okanagan Valley in the south of British Columbia—a region that is both exceptionally scenic and among the most wildfire-prone parts of the province. The reserve in question is located right near Vernon, meaning the evacuation affected not only Indigenous residents but also the surrounding infrastructure—roads, tourism routes, and agricultural lands for which the area is known. The Bradley Creek fire gets its name from the creek along which it began to spread. Based on how the fire has behaved, it moved rapidly through rugged terrain—fuelled by hot weather, low humidity, and strong winds typical of late summer in these latitudes.
Evacuation itself is an extremely complex logistical process, especially when it involves Indigenous communities, for many of whom ancestral land is not just a material asset but also holds deep spiritual meaning. People are moved to temporary accommodation centres, often in nearby cities, separating families and pulling them out of their usual way of life. For older community members who remember times before any early-warning systems existed, these experiences can be especially difficult. The community leader, quoted by CTV News Vancouver, is not emphasizing danger by chance: wildfires are unpredictable, and even when flames appear to recede, smoldering hotspots can flare up again due to wind gusts or shifts in wind direction.
The situation around Bradley Creek fits into a broader picture that has become increasingly worrying for the entire province of Canada in recent years. British Columbia is experiencing one of the most destructive wildfire seasons in its history, and climate scientists link this to global warming. Average temperatures in the region continue to rise, snowpack melts earlier than normal, and summer droughts are lasting longer. Together, these factors create ideal conditions for so-called “fire storms”—fires that develop so quickly that they are almost impossible to control with ground crews, and then aircraft and specialized firefighting teams from other provinces—and even from abroad—are brought in.
For the Okanagan First Nation, this fire was not the first time the community has faced a threat like this. The community has already been dealing with wildfire risk in past years, and each time it has left a deep mark on its social and economic life. Beyond the obvious threat to homes and outbuildings, fire destroys forests that provide sources of traditional livelihoods—hunting, gathering berries, and medicinal plants. For many Indigenous people, this is not simply the loss of natural resources, but the destruction of a cultural code passed down from one generation to the next. That’s why the community leader’s comment that “the emergency isn’t over” should be understood not only literally, but more broadly: even after the fire is put out, the community faces a long road to recovery—both materially and emotionally.
Provincial fire service representatives, according to the source, continue to keep the perimeter under control, but forecasts for the coming days remain unfavorable. Meteorologists warn of possible thunderstorms with lightning but without precipitation—an all-too-common trigger mechanism for new ignition points in remote, hard-to-reach locations. In many remote parts of Canada, it is lightning—not human factors—that causes most major fires, and it’s virtually impossible to predict lightning strikes in advance. Under these conditions, even the most advanced satellite monitoring systems can’t provide a complete guarantee that no new hotspots will go unnoticed.
Evacuated residents who have ended up in reception centres can only wait for official permission to return. However, as past experience shows, returning home is just the beginning of a long process. Damage assessments must be done, communications restored, children returned to school, and medical facilities put back into operation. In the case of remote reserves, there’s an additional challenge: transportation access. The fire may not only destroy forests, but also the roads used to supply the area. Based on his statement, the community leader is already preparing the public for the fact that recovery could take months—and possibly years.
Meanwhile, the question remains what measures will be taken at the government level to prevent similar disasters in the future. The Canadian government has long discussed strategies for managing forested areas, including controlled burns that reduce the amount of dry vegetation that serves as fuel for fires, and improving early-warning systems. But as this current season shows, those measures are still not enough. For Indigenous communities whose reserves are often located in high-risk areas, the issue is especially urgent—and perhaps it’s time for First Nations communities themselves to play a more active role in developing wildfire policy. For now, looking at the smoke over the Okanagan Valley and listening to the community leader’s warnings, it’s hard not to acknowledge this: nature is reminding people of its power, and for all of humanity’s technological strength, it isn’t always something people can quickly control.
