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Operation Red Nose revs up
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THINGS TO DO THIS WEEKEND FRIDAY, NOVEMBER 17, 2017
LOCAL NEWS – LOCAL MATTERS
SEE PAGE 13
There’s more at Burnabynow.com
CLEAN UP
NEWS
Wind whips through city
City hikes fines
Wind gusts take out trees in Burnaby during storm By Cornelia Naylor
cnaylor@burnabynow.com
When the snow lands, so will new rules for keeping sidewalks clear
A large tree branch that crushed a fence and narrowly missed the windows of two Burnaby homes was among several windrelated calls that kept Burnaby firefighters busy during Tuesday night’s windstorm. The fire department was called to 4173 Parker St. at about 11:45 p.m., according to assistant fire Chief Bryan Kirk. The tree-sized branch had split off a large sweet gum tree on city property just before midnight and crashed across two yards on Parker Street by Carleton Avenue. Firefighters had to clear a path to the front door of one of the homes with a chainsaw, but there was minimal damage to either house. The whole tree was cut down by a city contractor the next day. At about the same time as the Parker Street call, firefighters were called to 1970 Duthie Ave., where a large maple had taken out the service lines to the house. While they were there, a neighbour living down the street came over to report a fallen tree had taken out the lines to that home as well. “They got the rescue truck up there with a chain saw. They cut some tree limbs and cleared most of the roadway,” Kirk said. Firefighters defused a bigger threat when they were called to Government Street between Brighton and Dalebright at about 6:15 p.m.
By Tereza Verenca
tverenca@burnabynow.com
Burnaby business owners who don’t clear their properties of snow this winter could be slapped with a $400 fine. At last week’s meeting, city council increased the original $80 to $400 for industrial and commercial properties, to $250 for multi-family complexes and to $100 for residential homes. The bylaw amendment was part of a larger package of changes to the city’s winter storm response plan. Given the six heavy snowfalls between December 2016 and January 2017, staff were tasked with reviewing the city’s operational procedures to see what improvements could be made. They met with the Burnaby school district,TransLink, Coast Mountain Bus Company, RCMP, Simon Fraser University and the Burnaby Fire Department. They found that the previous $80 fine did not appear to be a “significant deterrent,” according to a report from the city, with the worst offenders being owners of commercial properties.
Continued on page 8
DOOMED:
A city contractor takes his chainsaw to a tree on Parker Street. The tree had lost a large branch in the storm making the rest of the tree unsafe. PHOTO CORNELIA NAYLOR
Continued on page 5
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