By Nora O’Malley, Local Journalism Initiative Reporter, Ha-Shilth-Sa Port Alberni, BC – The 2025 Tlu-piich Games were shut down halfway through the 3×3 basketball tournament at EJ Dunn Elementary School due to the encroaching smoke from the Mount Underwood wildfire. Les Doiron, Nuu-chah-nulth Tribal Council (NTC) vice-president, delivered the bad news to a gymnasium packed with hungry ballers at around 12:30 p.m., Aug. 13. “We’ve never seen smoke like this in the valley before. It’s dangerous, right. Ditidaht, they’ve got no power. It’s for the safety of all of our people,” said Doiron. “Can we just finish our game?” one of the young players asked. Doiron was kind but firm, re-iterating that it’s to keep people safe, plus out-of-town nations will have more time to make their way home. Ditidaht…
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