2024 Year-In-Review: Most-Read Stories

With 2024 coming to a close, we wanted to take a moment to look back at the year and discuss the biggest stories that impacted our community. On December 30, we released a list of the stories that our reporters wanted to highlight. In this article, we have the 10 most-read stories from Energeticcity.ca in 2024.

There are always a variety of reasons why certain stories are more read than others. Sometimes it’s because they have the largest impact, and other times it’s an interesting topic that people from all across BC want to read.

While these are the most-read stories, that doesn’t mean they are the most important. Nevertheless, it’s always interesting to see what other members of the community are interested in learning more about.

10. Man Wanted Since November 2023 Arrested in January

A man wanted by the Fort St. John RCMP since November 2023 was arrested. The Fort St. John RCMP was looking for 34-year-old Gavin James Lee Davis, who was arrested as of January 24, 2024. Davis previously cut off his ankle monitoring bracelet in an attempt to evade police.

9. NRRM Issued Full Evacuation of Fort Nelson

The Northern Rockies Regional Municipality (NRRM) issued a full Evacuation Order of Fort Nelson due to a wildfire. The wildfire, located west of the town, posed an immediate threat to life, health and property, according to a release issued at 6:57 p.m. on May 10, 2024. The fire was located 12 kilometres southeast of the Highway 77 junction. It was listed as 400 hectares and was ‘out of control,’ according to the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS).

8. LNG Canada’s $18B Project Nears Completion

LNG Canada’s $18 billion liquified natural gas project is set to be open in 2025, with shipping to Asia, and may begin to introduce gas to the facility soon. A statement from the company on August 28, 2024, says the introduction of natural gas and flaring activities mark “a pivotal step,” as the company prepares to ship out to Asian countries by mid-2025. The project is headed by LNG Canada, a consortium of five global petroleum giants, including Shell, Malaysia’s Petronas, PetroChina, Mitsubishi, and Korea Gas.

7. Missing Hunter’s Dog Located

A dog belonging to a hunter reported missing in mid-October was found, a long way from home and a long way from where he was last seen. According to Micaela Sawyer, the partner of missing hunter Jim Barnes, a golden retriever found near Wonowon on November 28, 2024, was identified as Barnes’ dog Murphy. Murphy and Barnes were reported missing on October 18, 2024, after he went out hunting in the Chetwynd area.

6. Freezing Weather in February

Environment Canada issued special weather statements in the region due to rapidly cooling weather and freezing rain back in February. A special weather statement was issued for Highway 97 through the Pine Pass due to dropping temperatures causing wet surfaces to freeze. According to Environment Canada, a cold front was expected to move across B.C. on Friday night, bringing cold air and causing temperatures to drop rapidly to below freezing.

5. Site C Reservoir Started Filling

According to BC Hydro, the water level in Site C reservoir have safely and steadily risen since the filling began. The dam site has a depth of more than 40 metres. The Site C construction scheduled from September to early October included work on the right bank drainage tunnel, left bank drainage adit, and dam buttress galleries.

4. Missing People in Dawson Creek

Family and friends of Cole Hosack, Renee Didier and Darylyn Supernant held an expanded search party in January and were looking for more volunteers. Remains found near the Kiskatinaw River were identified as Renee Didier in May and remains found in Dawson Creek were identified as Darylyn Supernant in June.

3. RCMP Seized Large Quantity of Drugs and Guns

After executing two search warrants on the 2600 block of Quince Street, the Prince George RCMP arrested four suspects and seized a large quantity of drugs and guns. On November 29, 2024, police were on patrol in the area of Victoria Street and McCullagh Avenue when they witnessed a man setting a car on fire that was reportedly stolen. The man and three more suspects were arrested were arrested after trying to flee into a waiting taxi.

2. BC to Implement Residential Tenancy Changes

The BC government implemented residential tenancy changes on July 18, 2024, after legislation was changed earlier this year to better protect people from bad-faith evictions. “While most landlords and tenants play by the rules and have respectful relationships, too many people in BC are still facing unfair rent hikes and evictions under false pretenses,” said Premier David Eby in a press release. The changes include increasing the amount of notice a tenant receives, and the amount of time they have to dispute an eviction.

1. 2024 BC Provincial Election Results

On October 19, 2024, the 2024 BC Provincial Election came to a close. Here are the results as reported by Elections BC for Peace River North, Peace River South, and the Legislature.