Heavy rain breaks 113-year-old record in Vancouver
It was the wettest Aug. 15 in more than a century at the weather station at Vancouver International Airport on Friday, as heavy rain drenched much of B.C.'s South Coast.
According to Environment Canada, 43.2 millimetres of rain fell late Thursday evening and Friday at YVR, close to double the previous daily rainfall record of 26.9 millimetres recorded back in 1912.
Records were also smashed in Abbotsford, Squamish, and West Vancouver on Friday, each surpassing their previous Aug. 15 precipitation highs by a wide margin.
Abbotsford received 55.8 millimetres, compared to 18 millimetres in 1999, Squamish got 36.8 millimetres breaking a record of 14.4 millimetres from 1988, and a whopping 80.6 millimetres fell in West Vancouver, after a previous high of 38.4 millimetres in 1999.
The most rainfall recorded in Metro Vancouver was in Coquitlam, which was drenched with 95.4 millimetres. Port Mellon in the Howe Sound received the highest total in the province with 123.2 millimetres.
Possible showers continue to be in the forecast for the region Saturday and Sunday, however all rainfall warnings have been lifted.
The 'unseasonably moisture-laden frontal system' was a welcome surprise on the wildfire front, helping reduce fire activity on a major blaze burning on Vancouver Island.
In an update Saturday, the BC Wildfire Service said continuing below-seasonal temperatures and variable precipitation will reduce the likelihood of significant fire behaviour.
As of Saturday morning, there were 76 active wildfires burning in B.C. and only four were classified as out of control.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
CBC
28 minutes ago
- CBC
Current N.L. wildfires reminiscent of the devastating summer of 1961
"There's a type of flower that closes up at night when it gets dark, and those flowers were closing up in the middle of the day, at noon-hour. The smoke was just so thick." That's how Marvin Barnes, who was six years old and living in Valleyfield at the time, remembers the summer of 1961 in Bonavista Bay. That year, record dry conditions on the island of Newfoundland led to a spate of wildfires that burned for more than three months. Then, as now, crews had to contend with blazes in several different locations at once. Then, as now, thousands of people were evacuated from their communities and could only wait for news on the fate of their homes. The province took steps that will sound familiar to those of us living through this year's ferocious wildfire season. Authorities banned open fires, prohibited travel through the woods, and ultimately declared a state of emergency and asked the Canadian government to send military support. When the flames finally guttered out, they left behind millions of acres of scorched earth and a province determined to change its approach to forest fires in the future. Fighting for the life of the town The summer of 1961 was an unusually dry one. Less than an inch (25.4 milimetres) of rain had fallen on Newfoundland's east coast from late May to early August, compared to an annual average of almost 200 millimetres The dry spell made a tinderbox of Newfoundland's forests and fields, and by mid-June there were a dozen major wildfires burning out of control. One of the most destructive of them was in Bonavista North. First spotted on June 12 near Traverse Brook, it spread rapidly up the coast to Hare Bay, where hundreds of women and children were forced to spend the night in schooners offshore. That was only the beginning. The conflagration would burn for three months and, at its peak, extend over 200,000 hectares. When then-minister of Mines and Resources W. J. Keough flew over the area in early August, he said the smoke from the blaze furled tens of thousands of feet into the air "like the burst from an atomic bomb." Dr. Rex Gibbons, a geologist who would eventually become minister of Mines and Energy himself under the Wells government, was fifteen years old in 1961 and had just graduated from grade eleven when he and his family learned the fire was moving up the shore toward them. "We'd heard of houses burning in Hare Bay and other places along the way," he said in an interview, "and we knew the fire was heading towards Lumsden, towards all the towns here on the coast." While his mother and six younger siblings evacuated to Lumsden North, which was out on a sandy peninsula and safe from the flames, Gibbons and his father stayed behind with the men of the community to help build a fire break. "Every capable person in Lumsden was on the fire line," he remembers. "We were fighting for the life of the town and our own livelihoods." Beating down the burning grass with shovels and spraying hotspots with water from the cans strapped to their backs, they managed to stop the flames from reaching the town. Gibbons and some of his friends later went west along the shore to Carmanville to help fight the fire there. Wildfires lead to improvements in N.L.'s forestry service To prevent further outbreaks, the government banned open fires except at designated sites in public parks and restricted outdoor smoking. They prohibited travel through the woods on the Avalon and Burin peninsulas, including for the purposes of camping, fishing, and berry picking. Officials also introduced mandatory jail sentences for anyone found to have started a fire in the forests, whether intentionally or through negligence. Two young men were sentenced to serve six months in the penitentiary for deliberately setting a fire in a forest in central Newfoundland. Eventually, the provincial government declared a state of emergency, and Ottawa dispatched over 1,200 Canadian troops to help get the blazes under control. By the end of summer, the fires had obliterated dozens of homes and, according to estimates at the time, more than half a million hectares of wilderness. They wiped out Bonavista North's thriving logging industry, which many residents relied on for their winter livelihoods, and, in the words of then-deputy Resources minister Stuart Peters, destroyed "a combination of soils, plants and animals that took from fifteen to twenty thousand years to establish." All that remained across great swaths of the province were ghostly white spruce trunks and ashes on bedrock. But for all its tragedy, the summer of 1961 led to permanent improvements in the way Newfoundland and Labrador deals with wildfires. The scope of the disaster revealed that the province's forestry service lacked the resources to fight such large fires, so the province purchased six aircraft: two Canso water bombers, one large helicopter for transporting firefighters and gear, and three small fixed-wing planes. The government also established a network of 12 weather stations to monitor for hazardous conditions across the province. The fires left an indelible mark not only on landscapes and institutions, but on the people of the province. For Gibbons, the experience is something that those who lived through it will never forget. "We all remember '61."
The Province
5 hours ago
- The Province
YVR records its wettest year since 1912
About 43.2 millimetres of rain fell on late Thursday evening and Friday at Vancouver International Airport, which has doubled the previous 26.9 millimetres of rainfall record set in 1912. Published Aug 16, 2025 • Last updated 1 hour ago • 1 minute read Walkers in the rain at Vanier Park following a long dry spell, in Vancouver on August 15, 2025. Photo by NICK PROCAYLO / 10108882A Several rainfall records were shattered in Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley, with the Vancouver International Airport smashing its record from over a century ago. This advertisement has not loaded yet, but your article continues below. THIS CONTENT IS RESERVED FOR SUBSCRIBERS ONLY Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. SUBSCRIBE TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Subscribe now to read the latest news in your city and across Canada. Exclusive articles by top sports columnists Patrick Johnston, Ben Kuzma, J.J. Abrams and others. Plus, Canucks Report, Sports and Headline News newsletters and events. Unlimited online access to The Province and 15 news sites with one account. The Province ePaper, an electronic replica of the print edition to view on any device, share and comment on. Daily puzzles and comics, including the New York Times Crossword. Support local journalism. REGISTER / SIGN IN TO UNLOCK MORE ARTICLES Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account. Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments. Enjoy additional articles per month. Get email updates from your favourite authors. THIS ARTICLE IS FREE TO READ REGISTER TO UNLOCK. Create an account or sign in to continue with your reading experience. Access articles from across Canada with one account Share your thoughts and join the conversation in the comments Enjoy additional articles per month Get email updates from your favourite authors Environment Canada says about 43.2 millimetres of rain fell on late Thursday evening and Friday at Vancouver International Airport, which has doubled the previous 26.9 millimetres of rainfall record set in 1912. The weather agency says an unseasonably moisture-laden frontal system brought 'much-needed' rain to the south coast regions from Thursday through Friday. Abbotsford had 55.8 millimetres of rain, breaking its previous record in 1999, while West Vancouver received 80.6 millimetres of rain, compared to about 38.4 millimetres of rain in 1999. Coquitlam received 95.4 millimetres , while Port Mellon in Howe Sound received the highest amount in B.C., with at least 123 millimetres being recorded. Vancouver Whitecaps News Vancouver Whitecaps BC Lions Basketball
CTV News
6 hours ago
- CTV News
West Dalhousie, N.S., wildfire nearly doubles in size overnight prompting state of emergency
Watch The County of Annapolis has declared a state of emergency as wildfires continue to impact the community, CTV's Paul Hollingsworth reports.
