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Vancouver Rundown Monday December 18, 2023

Local news because Facebook forgot about it

Bruce Claggett

Dec 18, 2023

Summary

Even though the 4.9 (4.6 according to some measurements) quake was in a very remote area, it was large enough to be felt in many areas of the B.C. south coast. Earthquakes Canada says it happened at 3:23 p.m. Sunday afternoon, on the mainland west of Chilko Lake. That’s about 140 km northwest of Pemberton. People from Campbell River to Vancouver reported feeling it…there are no reports of damage. Interestingly enough, the quake comes just days after Earthquakes Canada announced it will be ending its system of posting quakes to an X (formerly Twitter) account.

Other stories…

Take that holiday shoppers! Hundreds of pro-Palestinian protesters packed an area of the mall at Metrotown on Sunday for a march that spread into the streets. Some carried signs reading ‘from the river to the sea, Palestine will be free’ - a mantra considered by some to be a militant call for killing Israelis. Similar protests have been happening around the world even though Canada, Australia and New Zealand have signed a joint declaration calling for an Israeli-Hamas ceasefire.

A couple of MLAs from south Surrey are slamming the use of Peace Arch Hospital for filming, instead of healthcare. BC United MLAs Elenore Sturko and Trevor Halford contend healthcare should be the priority - not the film business. Fraser Health says no hospital services were impacted and the filming happened in a very small, closed area. Many B.C. hospitals and facilities have been used in the film industry for similar sets over the past few decades.

Many people spotted the spectacular Christmas lights on the CP Holiday Train as it headed down the Fraser Canyon and through the Valley Sunday. The cross-country tour ends Monday in Port Moody. Canadian Pacific uses the train to raise money for food banks - this is the first time the train has run since the start of the pandemic.

Expect showers and fog in the workdays leading up to Christmas. Temperatures are expected to reach highs on either side of 10C over the next few days. Here are the latest conditions from our private weather station in Surrey.