2/24 Slow slips and Big One, KM oil pipe route, barn owl rescue, no soil dump, Skansie Center

At left, tremors, summer 2016. Right, last slow slip, 12/2015

Magnitude 4.9 earthquake strikes off Vancouver Island
An earthquake has jolted the area off northwestern Vancouver Island, the second since Wednesday. The U.S. Geological Survey reports a magnitude 4.9 quake occurred at 4:28 a.m. PT Friday. It was centred 158 kilometres southwest of Port Hardy off the west coast of the Island and was at a depth of 10 kilometres. (Canadian Press)

'Slow slip' earthquake season raises risk of 'The Big One'
B.C. is headed back into another one of its riskier seismic seasons, raising the risk of "The Big One," earthquake experts say. Every 14 months, the Cascadian subduction zone — which runs from northern Vancouver Island down to northern California — experiences what seismologists call a "slow slip." This year's slip has already kicked off underneath Washington State and is expected to reach B.C. any day now. The phenomenon happens when seismic stress shifts onto the fault area where the Juan de Fuca and North American plates lock together. That causes thousands of mini-tremors and heightens the likelihood of a major earthquake event in B.C., according to seismologist Alison Bird. (CBC) See also: Big quake could damage, destroy nearly 40% of Victoria buildings, report says   Amy Smart reports. (Times Colonist)

Kinder Morgan serves notice to landowners on pipeline route
Kinder Morgan is beginning to issue letters to Burnaby, B.C. landowners whose property falls on the pipeline corridor, outlining how the project will utilize their land. "One of the next steps in the process for us ... is to get into more of the details of the route of where the pipeline will go," said Ali Hounsell, spokesperson for Kinder Morgan "There's about 60 parcels of land through Burnaby that the pipeline will go [through]." Hounsell says the pipeline will not run through residential areas. Of the 60 parcels, a dozen are either commercial or industrial zones with the City of Burnaby owning the remainder. Jon Hernandez reports. (CBC)

Delta raptor rescue society sees dramatic spike in barn owls this winter
B.C.’s barn-owl population is falling with the snow. Delta’s Orphaned Wildlife Rehabilitation Society has taken in 43 barn owls since Jan. 1, compared with just five barn owls over the same period last winter, according to raptor care manager Rob Hope. Many of the rescued owls have died. Winter is a tough time for many birds, but “it’s the barn owls that have been the hardest hit this year,” said Hope. Glenda Luymes reports. (Vancouver Sun)

Province pulls controversial Shawnigan Lake soil dumping permit
The B.C. government has cancelled the waste discharge permit that allowed a quarry upstream from Shawnigan Lake to receive and store contaminated soil. Environment Minister Mary Polak says Cobble Hill Holdings Ltd. failed to provide documents proving the company had financial security in the form of an irrevocable letter of credit.  Richard Zussman reports. (CBC)

Harbor WildWatch to re-open Skansie Visitor Interpretative Center with $25K Ben B. Cheney Foundation grant
The Welcome Plaza under construction in Skansie Park isn’t the only thing new in downtown Gig Harbor. Changes have been made at Harbor WildWatch in the historic Skansie House, where a $25,000 grant from the Ben B. Cheney Foundation has provided funding for the organization to update and improve its educational displays. Andrea Haffly reports. (News Tribune)

Now, your weekend tug weather--
WEST ENTRANCE U.S. WATERS STRAIT OF JUAN DE FUCA-  256 AM PST FRI FEB 24 2017  

TODAY  SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL  5 FT AT 15 SECONDS. SHOWERS LIKELY IN THE MORNING THEN A CHANCE  OF SHOWERS IN THE AFTERNOON.
TONIGHT  E WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL  5 FT AT 14 SECONDS. A SLIGHT CHANCE OF SHOWERS IN THE EVENING.
SAT  SE WIND 5 TO 15 KT BECOMING SW IN THE AFTERNOON. WIND  WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 5 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
SAT NIGHT  SW WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL  5 FT AT 14 SECONDS.
SUN  E WIND 5 TO 15 KT. WIND WAVES 2 FT OR LESS. W SWELL 6 FT  AT 15 SECONDS.

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