Tag Archives: Tiber Bay

Disaster

Purchasing an Early Wildfire Detection System for Cortes Island

Cortes Island is close to raising the funds for a wildfire detection system that identifies fires within minutes of their inception. In today’s interview Claudia van der Vorm explains what SenseNet is and Cortes Island Fire Chief Eli McKenty says why he thinks we need it. 

 Claudia van der Vorm: “SenseNet is a Canadian company based out of Vancouver. They work on very early wildfire detection, in most cases under the minute, they can detect a fire when it’s still in smouldering stages. So when we don’t smell it, we don’t see it, in areas hard to access. They have a combination of sensors, camera, satellite, and a platform that allows that early detection, prevention and mitigation.”

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Arts, Community

At The Museum: ‘Won’t You Be My Neighbour’ Exhibit Explores Community Life In Cortes Island

What does it mean to be a neighbour on Cortes Island? This  question is at the heart of the new Cortes Island Museum exhibition ‘Won’t You Be My Neighbour?’ curated by Melanie Boyle, Managing Director of the museum and Monica Hoffman. Opening Sunday May 4th the exhibit invites visitors on a visual and narrative journey through both the historical and contemporary communities that shaped life on the island.

“The  idea of focusing on neighbourhoods came from the prior exhibition, ‘From the Ground Up,” explained Hoffman.

Boyle added, “We did touch on how people work together to build structures, in terms of collaboration.  It was also about repurposing material and sharing of resources and, in a way, this is also what this new exhibition is about. Collective land arrangements are a way for people to live affordably on Cortes, to share  the land, but also to share the material, resources and work collaboratively. So there’s a lot of overlap.” 

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Communications

Cortes Island Residents Waiting for CityWest To Connect Them

CityWest started hooking Cortes Island residents up to the internet in December 2023, but many homes are still waiting. As the evidence is anecdotal, it is difficult to say how many people are currently connected through CityWest and how many are not.

Sherman Barker just informed me that he has never met anyone who is connected. After waiting for two years of waiting, he was using Starlink by the time a CityWest crew showed up to do the final hook-up. 

“I have a pile of CityWest cable, all the way from my driveway to my yard, that they don’t want back.”  

Sean Coyote, a techie who works for Cortes Community Radio, said typically people who have yet to be serviced are told their names are on a list. Some, like Sherman, subsequently moved on to other internet providers. Sean added that there are a couple of CityWest trucks working on the island right now. 

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Fire

Tiber Bay Residents Being Asked If They Want To Be Included In Cortes Fire Protection Area

The 32 properties in Tiber Bay are one step closer to being included in the South Cortes Island fire protection area. They are currently outside the boundary and, consequently, the Cortes Fire department cannot immediately respond to fires in that area. It needs direction from the BC Wildfire Service. Tiber Bay residents will soon be receiving a petition in which they can state their preferences.

Cortes Island Director Mark Vonesch read out the motion at the December 11 SRD Board Meeting,  “That a petition be prepared and distributed to affected property owners to determine if they support the extension initiative, and then a further report be prepared for the Board’s consideration at the conclusion of the petition process.”

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Fire

Tiber Bay May Soon Be Added To Cortes Island’s Fire Protection Area

Part of Tiber Bay may soon be included in the Southern Cortes Protection Area. This matter was brought up at the Wednesday, November 6, Electoral Areas Services Committee (EASC) meeting, where a motion to recommend it with no dissenting votes.  

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