How long is the line at Sumas? Is Highway 1 moving? Is the power out on our street? Is the Nooksack rising again?
Most Abbotsford residents answer those questions by checking half a dozen websites. Abbotsford’s Jim Wright decided there had to be a better way, so he built one. Wright’s background is in traditional and social media.
At a glance, AbbyLive.ca shows:
- Border wait times at Huntingdon/Sumas and Aldergrove/Lynden, in both directions
- Road closures, crashes and construction from DriveBC, plus live highway cameras
- Weather, forecasts and warnings from Environment Canada, and air quality readings
- Flood advisories from the BC River Forecast Centre, plus U.S. alerts for the Nooksack River
- BC Hydro power outages, with how many homes are affected and when power is expected back
- Live bus locations from BC Transit and aircraft near Abbotsford International Airport
- Hospital and urgent care hours and phone numbers
- Local news headlines and upcoming community events from Go! Abbotsford
- EV charging stations, a quick link to gas prices, and local radio stations
“After the 2021 floods, I realized how many of us were refreshing five different websites just to find out what was going on,” said Wright. “I wanted one page my neighbours could bookmark and trust to have it all, especially on a snowy morning or before a trip across the border. And I wanted it to be free.”
AbbyLive.ca draws on public information from Environment and Climate Change Canada, DriveBC, BC Hydro, BC Transit, the Canada Border Services Agency, U.S. Customs and Border Protection, the BC River Forecast Centre, Fraser Health and Go! Abbotsford, among others. Each item links back to its original source.
The site is a community information tool, not an official emergency service. In an emergency, residents should call 9-1-1 and follow official alerts.
Local businesses can be featured on the map through sponsored listings, which help keep the site free for residents.
Residents can visit abbylive.ca and save it to their phone’s home screen for one-tap access.
About AbbyLive.ca
AbbyLive.ca is a free live information map for Abbotsford and Mission, B.C., created by Abbotsford resident Jim Wright. It combines border waits, road conditions, weather, flood and power outage alerts, transit, local news and community events in one place.
