What’s the status of the fire on Mount Seymour?

Good morning,

Yes, that smoke you see across the water is in fact a fire. It’s only fitting the city now has a (small) blazing inferno to go along with the smoke.

In today’s newsletter, we’ve got:

• The status of the fire 🔥

• Why council voted down modular housing 🏠

• Michelin restaurant recommendations 🍽️

A small bit of housekeeping. Today’s newsletter will be a bit shorter than normal as I’m heading out early for a long hike. My colleague Robert will be taking over for Monday’s newsletter, as most backcountry camping spots don’t have wifi!

Let’s get to it!

— Geoff Sharpe, Vancity Lookout newsletter writer

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WEATHER

Friday: 28 🌡️ 15 | 🌤️

Saturday: 28 🌡️ 15 | 🌤️

Sunday : 26 🌡️ 14 | 🌤️

Monday : 22 🌡️ 13 | 🌧️ 

ENVIRONMENT

It’s a bird, it’s a plane… No, it’s a forest fire

It wasn’t enough to just have smoke in Vancouver. No, fate has decided the city also needs a fire…

What happened: A fire is burning over in Mount Seymour in North Vancouver, and as of Wednesday was 0.3 hectares in size, according to CityNews. You’ll have noticed the fire if you looked across the water. It was first reported at 4:15 pm on Wednesday. The location is near Rice Lake and close to the second switchback up by Mount Seymour Road.

Fire crews are responding to the blaze. Luckily according to CBC, there are no buildings in the area, and it is relatively secluded. Officials are unsure what caused the fire, whether it was man-made or natural.

• Response: Helicopters are dropping water on the blaze, with a dozen aircraft participating. You can see an aircraft dropping water in this video from a Reddit user.

Status: The fire is currently under control and officials say it is “responding to suppression efforts” who are “gaining the upperhand,” according to Global. Crews spent hours hiking out to the area to combat it.

Zoom out: This is the worst fire season in Canadian history, as most parts of the province battle blazes and deal with smoke. Currently, there are 330 fires across B.C. according to CBC. Luckily over in north-western Quebec the fires have eased, and a fire ban has been lifted, according to CTV.

VANCOUVER BY THE NUMBERS

📉 0.6%: That’s how much property prices fell…For Burnaby…In one month. Sadly they were the only Metro Vancouver city to see a housing price drop. [Real Estate Board]

🎭 $103.7 million: How much the city is loaning the PNE to build its new amphitheatre, which will be completed by 2026. This is up from the $64.8 million that was approved in 2021. [Business in Vancouver]

CITY HALL

Council votes down modular housing site extension

You’d think that in a housing crisis, the city would be doing everything possible to extend the lifetime of housing. Not so according to the latest decision at city hall.

What happened: City council voted against a motion by Coun. Christine Boyle to look at extending the lifespan of modular homes whose leases are expiring between 2024 and 2028, as a way to ensure homeless people aren’t displaced, according to CTV.

Background: There are currently 750 modular homes whose leases expire within that time frame. The buildings themselves are quite sturdy and can last longer than this timeframe according to the motion submitted by Boyle. It would both extend the lifespan of temporary modular homes and seek to find new locations to relocate them, according to Urbanized.

Those opposed: The ABC majority voted down the policy, saying temporary modular housing was a short-term solution that wouldn’t address the long-term problem of homelessness. They argued the land should be used for building new housing. Sim did not comment on the decision, and instead posted a statement on Twitter, saying “we need more permanent, quality housing for our most vulnerable residents.”

Those in favour: If the leases expire, it could mean more people out on the streets, meaning even more homelessness in the city.

Thought bubble: The motion asked staff to report back on all of these issues. Why not at least start the process of looking into it, then make a decision at a later date?

THE AGENDA

🪧 The strike is over! Work resumed yesterday, with both sides agreeing to a tentative deal. This came after the federal mediator recommended a settlement deal to each side. The terms have not yet been shared publicly. Now workers will begin dealing with the backlog of shipping containers. [Global]

🚰 Ponds are bone dry and some people are calling for the city to fill them up. But the parks board says that the use of money doesn’t make sense, especially in the context of worsening drought conditions in the province. [Vancouver Sun]

👮 Police arrested and charged a man who was exposing himself to children at a playground in East Vancouver. [CityNews]

🏠 Are you a bad Airbnb owner? City statistics indicate that short-term rentals through the company are rising and people appear to be skirting the bylaws. Coun. Lenny Zhou said staff are working to gather more information on those owners who aren’t complying. [Vancouver Sun]

🎨 A graffiti artist is using their art to illustrate how bad SROs are for residents. The artist said he believes all levels of government have no idea how bad the conditions are for residents. [CTV]

🥵 Good news beach fans, bad news for those of you without AC — it’s about to get hotter this weekend, with temperatures rising to 28 today and staying around there till Monday. [Environment Canada]

🛣️ It turns out scrapping bike lanes to increase roads in Stanley Park did not help traffic problems. Now, the park board is looking at bringing back the second exit in Stanley Park to reduce congestion. Meanwhile, bikers are experiencing their own congestion in Stanley Park… [Vancouver Sun]

🚓 A tourist was stabbed in an unprovoked attack in the Granville District. The tourist, from New Zealand, was visiting the area Tuesday evening. Police are asking for help to find the suspect. [Vancouver is Awesome]

FOOD

More Michelin

What happened: Michelin has added ten new restaurants that are recommended by the publication, according to Daily Hive. These restaurants have not won a Michelin star, but rather are worthy of visitors to check out.

The list: Archer, Bao Bei, Farmer’s Apprentice, Folke, Hānai, Karma Indian Bistro, Motonobu Udon, Okeya Kyujiro, Sushi Hil and Sushi Jin all made the Michelin list.

Looking ahead: Book these places now because the addition of anything Michelin means they will get even more busy.

Recommendation: I am a huge fan of Bao Bei and have visited often. I recommend coming early, getting on the guest list and then checking out a few places nearby for a drink while waiting.

What to get: It’s an exceptional restaurant and dishes are constantly changing. In terms of standards, the mantou buns and sticky rice cakes are staples you have to try. The “schnacks,” especially the marinated eggplant and crispy tofu, are ones I always order. But you should order as many of the smaller dishes as you can, they’re all unique.

COMMUNITY HIGHLIGHTS

• RapidBus now has WiFi, so you can stream the latest song while zipping by cars. [CTV]

• This man made some hilarious (with a language warning) signs asking for his Jiu-Jitsu pants back. [Reddit]

• The only thing better than a library, if you’re a dog, is a stick library! There’s a new one over in Mount Pleasant. [Reddit]

• How big is a $200-million super yacht? Big. And it’s docked over in North Vancouver. [Vancouver is Awesome]

• The Gastown Grand Prix is back after a three-year hiatus due to COVID. The race has been going on since 1973. No word on how painful it is riding over those cobblestones. [Global]

GAME TIME

Think you’ve got what it takes to answer this week’s Vancouver Wordle? Play it now.