Business bits Nanaimo companies earn awards and praise for work. PAGE 16 Fire prevention Safe practices important, especially during winter. PAGE 18 Car care Information on auto maintenance for the changing seasons. PAGE 12
Clippers hittin’ hard PAGE 30
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SATURDAY, OCTOBER 6, 2012
VOL. 24, NO. 69
w w w. v i s i o n s o p t i c a l . c o m
Endless summer
Weather forecast calls for dry, sunny skies for the near future
A Harbour Air seaplane takes off in choppy Nanaimo seas Tuesday. The city experienced a wind storm from the northwest, bringing plenty of sunshine and gusts reaching 75 km/h. CHRIS HAMLYN/THE NEWS BULLETIN
B Y C HR H R IS I S H AM A M LY LYN YN THE TTH HE H E N NE EW EW WS S BULL B UL BU BUL U L LET LLE E IN ET ETIN N
hile hi le a llac ack off pre ack ac reeciipi pita tati tiion iiss ra rais isin isin ing ing fears off droug fe ght h in m ny parts of the ma provincee, residents in Nanaimo are simp ply enjoying an extended summer.. Sunshine and temperatures up to 21 C are expected for the Thanksgiving Day weekend and next week, adding to an already spectacular summer and early fall. “It was the driest August and September on record at the Nanaimo Airport and that has been pretty representative of the east coast of Vancouver Island,”
said ssa aid id Dav aviid avid d Jon ones ess,, m meeete teo te orro ollog ogis ist witth with wi h En nv vir iro on nm meen ntt Can anad ada a.. “T Th he he same sa me rid rid idge idge ge th ha at cr create eate ea ted all all th al his is dry weea dr atth heer ov over er the he su um mme mer er has po has ha popp pp ped d up ag agai aiin. n It’ t’s st t’s strong ro ong and an d very ry y per ersi sisst si sten sten ent. t.”” t. The lack k of rain rain i has rai rai a se sed d water concerns in Cowichan, Courtenay and d the Sunshine Coast, but Bill Sims, city manman ager of water resources, said Nanaimo is fortunate. “We store water during the winter and spring in our Jump Creek dam on the Nanaimo River and slowly release it over the summer,” he said. “Normally we try to have that reservoir completely filled by the end of June, but thanks to the crappy weather we had into July, we had
full fu ll sto torra age ge rig igh htt int nto tth he th thir ird weeek w ek of tth ha att mon ntth h..”” Th hat at lat ate stor sstto orrag age, e, combi omb om biined need n witth wi with h a decre ecre ec reas ase in ase n daily aiilly y wat ater er cco ons nsum u ptio um pttio i n ov verr the he sum mme mer, r, r, ha as le l ft the h city itty in in goo o d sh s ap apee in in t rm te rms of ava vail ilab a le sup ab suppl ply y. “We’re drawing down of course, getting close to 50 per cent storage. We never, ever want to be below 30 per cent so we’ve got a pretty good amount left,” said Sims. “We’re always concerned about drought and monitor on a daily basis, but no one is throwing that word around yet. We’re in decent shape.” Jones said the high pressure ridge is expected to continue with clear skies making for cool
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morn m mo orn r niin n ngs gss, but g but the bu the te th tem mp per era attu urre is reb is ebou ound ndin ing ni nice cely y dur urin urin ing th he day. da y. “W Why hy th ha at ri ridg ridg dge iiss the herree and and nd wh hy it it has beeen so per ersi sist si stent st en nt into in to o tthe he fal a l we don n’tt kno now, w,” he he said sa id. d “T “The he out utfl flow ow w win inds ds is ke keep eping the air quite dry and warm.” The news is not all good as the fair weather increases the risk of fire. Nanaimo was hit with a wind storm Tuesday, with gusts from the northwest reaching 75 km/h near Entrance Island and drying out even further an already parched forest. Donna MacPherson, spokeswoman for the Coastal Fire Centre, said the area around Nanaimo and Gabriola Island
is “ssttu is un nni ning ngly ly dry ry” and and iin an n an exttrreme ex eme ffiire em re da an n nge ger rra ge ati tin ng g. ““T The he out utffllow ow win inds ds w wee ha had come co me fro rom the th he In nte teri teri rior or is dry dry so dr so what wh atev ever ev er moi oist stturre is stur is in iitt has as beeen b een suc ucked keed ou k out, t ” she t, sh he sa aiid d. “O “Our ur fore fo reca cast stter erss sa say y th thee fu f rt rthe hest on on the horiizon we’d expect p precipitation would be the midd dle of the mon month, nth, which will lik likely kely be a single-day event. Behind that is even more dry until at least the end of the month.” The Coastal Fire Centre has responded to 234 wildfires since April 1 – 134 which were caused by people. To report a wildfire, please call 1-800-663-5555. – with files from Toby Gorman news@nanaimobulletin.com
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