The following regions include:
A – Mill Bay, Malahat
B – Shawnigan Lake
C – Cobble Hill, Arbutus Ridge
D – Cowichan Bay, Cherry Point, Koksilah Village
E – Eagle Heights, Sahtlam, Glenora, Cowichan Station
F – Honeymoon Bay, Mesachie Lake, Caycuse
G – Saltair
H – North Oyster, Yellowpoint
I – Youbou
City of Duncan, District of North Cowichan, Town of Ladysmith, Town of Lake Cowichan
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Emergency resilience is our priority.
The Cowichan area has a Regional Emergency Program that includes nine electoral areas, four municipalities and works collaboratively with the First Nations. We are a local and regional government service that focuses on emergency management. Our goal is to lead the communities throughout the Cowichan region to prepare, respond, recover and mitigate for emergency or disaster situations.
News & Updates
Gala Vista Apartment Fire
August 22, 2026
On August 21, 2026 at approximately 2:30 am, the North Cowichan/Duncan RCMP, Duncan Fire Department, North Cowichan Fire Department and Cowichan Bay Fire Department attended a structure fire on Government St. in Duncan. The structure fire was contained to one building and evacuation of all tenants was required. Damage was sustained to the building is under investigation. Emergency Management Cowichan was activated to assist with displacement of residents. Emergency Management Cowichan is providing the following update regarding the Gala Vista Apartment Fire:
- Repairs and cleanup work for the Gala Vista Apartments are expected to take about 2 weeks.
- On Wednesday August 26, 2026, residents will be allowed to come to the site and collect small personal items from their apartment. Tenants from floors 1 and 2 are asked to arrive at 10 a.m., and tenants on floors 3 and 4 at 12:30 p.m. Staff will escort residents to their suites, and residents must wear personal protective equipment (N95 masks).
- EM Cowichan will continue providing shelter and accommodation support for all evacuated residents for the next 2 weeks while repairs are underway. The EMC Emergency Support Services (ESS) team will contact evacuees later this week to confirm these arrangements.
- EMC is not accepting donations. The VIHA Free Store is available to support clothing needs for evacuated residents but is not open to the public at this time. Evacuees can contact us for the phone number for the Free Store and get in touch with the Cowichan Valley Basket Society for extra help with food.
- If you would like to donate, the Cowichan Valley Basket Society and Red Cross are accepting monetary donations. Cowichan Valley Basket Society: https://cvbs.ca/ Red Cross: https://www.redcross.ca/
We are stronger when we help each other.
The Cowichan Valley is a stronger community when we help each other. In the event of an emergency, it is vital that there are dedicated teams of staff and volunteers ready to assist.
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