As 2022 draws to a close, we’re looking back at the top 10 Burnaby news stories of the year.
Yesterday, we brought you a reminder of the continuing rapid pace of highrise development in the city. Today, we recap the series of extreme weather events that befell Burnaby over the past 12 months.
Atmospheric river
The elements wasted no time in sending a storm our way in 2022, with an atmospheric river hitting the city on Jan. 12, bringing around 100 mm of rain over 24 hours and triggering public safety warnings from Environment Canada to beware of localized flooding. That concern was due in part to melting snow, with increased snowmelt contributing to runoff.
The storm prompted the City of Burnaby to close some roads, including sections of Still Creek and Westminster avenues, with heavy rain “causing some localized flooding around Burnaby,” the city said in a tweet.
Heat wave
The city was also no stranger to extreme heat during the year, with a heat wave gripping Burnaby in June. On June 27, the NOW reported that the city was hosting cooling centre open houses with community groups, providing resources on how to prepare for and survive extreme heat.
Burnaby opened up its four cooling centres to provide heat relief as temperatures rose that week. The city also suggested libraries, community centres, shopping malls and city hall as ways to stay safe.
Burnaby community groups hosted booths at the open house, providing information pamphlets on dealing with heat in a variety of situations, including different living situations and for pet owners.
Free buckets were provided to open house attendees, encouraging people to “self-douse” – soak their feet in cold water in order to lower their core body temperature. Burnaby Neighbourhood House signed up volunteer drivers to pick up and drop off seniors from cooling centres around Burnaby. It also collecting donations of fans.
The Burnaby RCMP also prepared to hand out packages to unhoused people, including water, electrolyte powder packages, sunscreen, lip balm and granola bars.
Wind storm
Early last month, a powerful wind storm hit the city, causing widespread damage to homes and vehicles and leaving thousands without power. Wind gusts as high as 90 km/h were reported as the storm, in the early morning hours of Nov. 5, caused widespread power outages on Vancouver Island, the Sunshine Coast and across Metro Vancouver and the Fraser Valley.
BC Hydro noted that crews trying to restore power faced danger from falling trees.
"The wind knocked down trees and branches – many of them weakened by the summer’s drought – causing them to come into contact with BC Hydro’s electrical equipment. As a result, crews continue to be busy repairing damaged power lines, power poles and other equipment.
Deep freeze, deep snow
November also marked a major snowfall that descended on Burnaby.
The Nov. 29 storm snarled traffic throughout the Lower Mainland, with drivers getting stuck on hills and bridges shutting down. At points throughout the evening and late into that night, Google maps was nearly entirely "red" — meaning traffic was going nowhere, or almost nowhere.
An even more severe winter storm touched off traffic mayhem last week, plunging Burnaby into chaos along with the rest of the Lower Mainland, as 25 centimetres of snow falling on the region the night of Dec. 19.
The city struggled to keep routes clear during the storm and in its aftermath, while garbage collection in some parts of the city was cancelled and Canada Post suspended mail service in the region. Bus and SkyTrain service in the city, too, was disrupted, with several routes delayed, detoured or cancelled.
