By Casey LeMoel,

Neighbourhood Publisher Reporter

 

By Casey LeMoel,

Neighbourhood Publisher Reporter

 

Social:

@iamcaseylemoel

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Web:

theneighbourhoodnews.info

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The drug crisis has been going on for years now. It is in every town, every province, every country on Earth. The norm in my hometown is sirens several times a day and night. This constant noise, even in a small town, can really affect a person's mental health. Sadly, the situation has worsened in recent months and weeks.

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If you grew up here, and the drugs we are seeing right now often don't respond to naloxone, Derby stated, then you will know this was not the norm. Dan Derby quoted in saying ''Our community needs help. We are in the midst of a crisis. Since the start of 2026, Kootenay Boundary Regional Fire Rescue has been busier than ever in its history. This time last year, from January 1st to now, 100 calls for service came in. This year, 200 calls for service have come in, and about 100 are related to the drug crisis in our community.

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​Recently, there has been one confirmed death at the local La Nina Shelter. A man was in a room and came out on fire. After failed attempts by the shelter staff to put the fire out, emergency services arrived and took the man to the hospital, where he later died with over 90-degree burns on his body. The Neighbourhood News knows the young man's name, but is not releasing it to respect the family at this time.

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In the last 24 hours, a suspicious fire around 1 am in the back of the Community Inclusion Centre, run by CDS, has suffered approx. $40k damage to their kitchen and smoke damage throughout the building. A suspect has been spotted on building cameras. Several unconfirmed reports have come of 19 overdoses and several deaths in the Trail area has occured since Income assistance checks came out last Wednesday.

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