WEBVTT

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Vancouver rundown for Thursday, September 18,

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2025. A new extortion task force is being set

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up in B .C. with one goal, targeting threats

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and violence in the South Asian business community.

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The RCMP -led task force will include 40 members

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from various agencies. Police say 45 extortion

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attempts and 27 shootings are under investigation

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in Surrey from this year alone. The Surrey Police

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Service says it's very close to making arrests

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in this year's shootings and arsons. Other news,

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a car fire on the freeway in Abbotsford during

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the Wednesday morning rush caused many people

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to be late. The small car went up in flames in

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the East Lanes just east of Sumas Way at around

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7 a .m. No one was hurt. Vancouver's Bright Nights

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Holiday Festival is leaving Stanley Park for

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a return to Surrey. The annual event will now

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be held at the Cloverdale Fairgrounds from November

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28 to December 28 this year. The event is a fundraiser

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for the BC Burn Fund. In recent years, it hit

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a snag as the Stanley Park miniature train needed

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repairs. The move now hitches the festival to

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Surrey's already popular Noel Holiday Light Festival.

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The ash that's reportedly fallen in parts of

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the South Coast and Vancouver Island is not from

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the 1980 eruption of Mount St. Helens. That word

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from the experts comes as parts of Washington

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state have reported old ash kicked up by recent

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winds. BC's hazy orange sky is more likely a

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result of smoke from several wildfires. The forecast,

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clouds for Thursday morning, sunny with gusty

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winds by the afternoon, and sunshine for Friday,

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clouds and showers. For all the details on these

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local Vancouver area stories, along with those

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links, go to vancouverrundown .substack .com.