Tag Archives: Cortes Island Fire Department

Food, Health, Housing, Indigenous Nations, Politics

MLA Michele Babchuk visits Cortes Island

MLA Michele Babchuk was on Cortes Island for a few days last week. She spoke to Cortes Currents after meeting with some of the island’s non-profits in the Village Commons. This was the third time she’s visited the island since she was elected in 2020. 

“I’m hearing that Cortes actually has a lot of capacity and we’ve known that for a long time. There’s a lot of not for profit groups here. A lot of them are feeling extremely underfunded,” she explained. 

Continue reading MLA Michele Babchuk visits Cortes Island →
Arts, Disaster

Screening of ‘the Test’ On Cortes Island Thursday, June 20, 2024

Male voice: “I’ll vividly remember there was a very large wall of flame methodically marching towards Logan Lake and a huge column of smoke coming off of that  and looking down at these cul de sacs and thinking, ‘wow, they look so small.’ And in my mind, all I could think was that this is either going to be a great day for Logan Lake, or a horrible day.” 

Female voice: “What inspired the first activities in Logan Lake was fear.”

Second female voice: “We’re a small community on top of this beautiful hill surrounded by forest.” – excerpt from ‘the Test.’

There will be a screening of ‘The Test’ in the Mansons Fire Hall at 7 PM, on Thursday, June 20.  

“This is a documentary about the Logan Lake wildfire and their success in preparing for it using the FireSmart methods.  I believe they had been preparing for 18 years before they had a major wildfire come through the community, “explained, Interim Fire Chief Eli McKenty.

Continue reading Screening of ‘the Test’ On Cortes Island Thursday, June 20, 2024 →
Transportation

Town Hall Meeting: The Cortes Airstrip

About 125 people turned up for the town hall meeting in Mansons Hall, on Monday June 3, 2024. Noticeably absent were the air strip’s owner, Michael Ching, his manager,  Judy Kemchand, or Martene Rothblatt, who is financing the air strip’s renovations. 

This did not come as a surprise.

Continue reading Town Hall Meeting: The Cortes Airstrip →
Forests

Cortes Forestry General Partnership Public Meeting Covers Wildfire Prevention and the Five-Year Plan

The Cortes Forestry General Partnership (CFGP) held a public meeting on Thursday, May 30, 2024. CFGP is an equal partnership between the Klahoose First Nation and the Cortes Community Forest Co-operative and manages operations in the Community Forest, comprised of much of the island’s Crown forests. 

The main theme of the meeting was wildfire prevention. Fire Chief Eli McKenty offered an opening presentation on ways the Community Forest and Cortes Island Fire Department are collaborating to reduce fire risks. 

Continue reading Cortes Forestry General Partnership Public Meeting Covers Wildfire Prevention and the Five-Year Plan →
Community, Transportation

Cortes Airstrip: the protest and Monday’s town hall meeting

Around 30 people held an impromptu protest in front of the Cortes Airstrip on Wednesday. They received word that a paving crew was coming over on the ferry, to pave the runway. This turned out to be premature, but there will be a town hall meeting at Mansons Hall, from 7 to 9 PM Monday, to discuss the situation. 

Continue reading Cortes Airstrip: the protest and Monday’s town hall meeting →