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B.C. is on fire! School districts band together to help displaced B.C. residents from the forest fires
B.C. is on fire!
Smoke seen behind school buses in the Okanagan. PHOTO BY HAROLD SCHOCK.
School districts band together to help displaced B.C. residents from the forest fires
We have had tense fire seasons in the past few years, but no one was ready for what developed this year. Towns and cities in the interior were placed on evacuation alert and many were presented with evacuation orders. The fires were moving fast and a number of them eventually joined to form the largest forest fire in British Columbia’s recorded history. Major highways and other roads were closed indefinitely as it was too dangerous, and some routes were needed to move evacuated people away from fire areas. Others chose to remain behind for various reasons.
Where do you place all the people leaving? How do you ensure they get out and keep others from sneaking back in? By August 2nd there were more than 300 buildings destroyed by wildfires. By September 7th there were still more than 140 wildfires burning across the province. At the time of this writing, thousands are still on evacuation order, and nearly 12,000 remain on evacuation alert. The B.C. Wildfire Service has extended the state of emergency again, up to September 15th at this point.
Schools remained untouched by fire with some just barely squeaking by. Gymnasiums in many school districts were being utilized with cots and blankets set up to receive displaced people. Kamloops and Kelowna both were ready to receive worried moms and dads.
School grounds in a few communities were used to house firefighters and support staff, as well as the military. Extra RCMP members were flown in to Williams Lake to assist with evacuation and road blocks. The Peter Skene Ogden High School in 100 Mile was used as a dorm for both the RCMP and the B.C. fire crews. Lake City Secondary in Williams Lake had been used
by the Cariboo Regional District as an emergency centre complete with sleeping cots, food services, and registration services. The Canadian Armed Forces brought in 300 personnel and used one of the Williams Lake Elementary School grounds to set up camp. Williams Lake School District bus fleet had been used to evacuate people to various other cities, including Prince George, Kamloops, and Kelowna. Busing was also provided for Interior Health, Cariboo Mental Health, the District of 100 Mile House, the City of Williams Lake, and the RCMP. The bus fleet was placed on call to assist with the possible evacuation of Williams Lake. The Prince George School District offered space for displaced administration.
A gymnasium in the Kelowna School District being utilized for those displaced by the fires. PHOTO BY HAROLD SCHOCK. As Alex Telford, the manager of facilities and transportation, mentioned, “It’s been very heart-warming to see all the support that our communities have given and continue to give to one another. We also had wonderful support and offers to help from our neighbouring communities. School districts from many areas were reaching out to find out if they could offer any type of assistance.”
At one point, Canada Post suspended service to Ashcroft, 100 Mile House, 108 Mile House, Lac la Hache, Little Fort, Alexis Creek, Hanceville, Nemiah Valley, 150 Mile House, Riske Creek, Miocene, Horsefly, Big Lake, Likely, Williams Lake, Anahim
Encampment at Cache Creek at an elementary site. PHOTO BY DEB SANSOME.
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Fire seen near Loon Lake between Cache Creek and Clinton. PHOTO BY DEB SANSOME.
Lake, Nimpo Lake, and parts of Quesnel. Sections of Highways 1, 5A, 97, 97C, 99, 20, 24, and other less-travelled roads were all closed at various times.
Prince George stepped up in a big way to help out. The military supplied cots for a number of evacuees. A bank and insurance centre were also set up, and was called the Resiliency Centre, which was housed in self-contained trailer units parked on school district property. Pets were allowed to accompany evacuees as they were shown the gym and cots where they could rest. These were open 24 hours per day with public access. School district custodial were on site at all times. Warehouse space was also provided for the SPCA to use 24 hours a day for the protection of animals that had no owners.
The entire Williams Lake senior administration was accommodated in the Prince George board office. Dates had been set up to ensure that payroll, etc. continued uninterrupted. Staff members were in Prince George doing work while the city was evacuated. The district also provided vehicles to trades staff from Williams Lake so they could get back to work.
The military slept on site while going to evacuated towns. If numbers of evacuees increased, other district sites were prepared and ready to accept them if need be.
The University of Northern B.C. (UNBC) had the bulk of evacuees and had a number of logistical issues to deal with. Many of the evacuees were homeless people, as well as others with nowhere to go because of the fires. Nino Maletta, general manager of Capital Projects, said “There will be a post-mortem in January to try and prepare better for the future.” It sounds like Prince George was on the ball and though they likely scrambled like crazy, their team sounds like it went together quite well.
Cache Creek Elementary has been another encampment for the firefighters. Two staff members from Gold Trail School District (Ashcroft/Cache Creek and other communities) lost their homes during the Boston Flats fire. Deb Sansome, director of facilities commented, “Robert, our bus driver who lost his home in Boston Flats, put aside his own concerns and assisted in evacuating others. Jim, another driver, while his home out at Loon Lake was threatened, stepped up to evacuate those in the Clinton area. To those who stayed and worked at the district, we are grateful. They too deserve a nod for making it to work every day.”
She continues, “A special note of thanks to the Kamloops School District who came to the rescue evacuating the Ashcroft Hospital in the early days of the fire.”
Sites were set up to accommodate pets. People from all over pulled together to assist where they could. The B.C. Red Cross has been accepting donations to go directly to the victims of the fires. As mentioned above, many people were away from their homes because of evacuation orders for long periods of time and many people do not have a home as fires raged through their properties. The response from school districts and staff from these districts has been outstanding. The fire season has been a struggle. Wildfire Service posted updates as frequently as they could. Multimedia was used from Facebook to Twitter, to newscasts, etc. The overall scene changed every day. Information coming out each day gave almost a play-byplay account, and for citizens affected, it was very traumatic. Below is another one of their releases from mid-July.
Every day new information is posted. On July 15th B.C. Wildfire Service had this information: • 161 fires burning • 14 new fires since Friday • $77 million spent fighting fires to July 15th • 17,400 number of evacuees • 5,714 homes received provincial funding (up to July 15th)
This has been a very busy year fighting fires. We are lucky to have had firefighters helping our firefighters from various provinces in Canada, Australia, Mexico, and possibly other areas as well. We are all indebted to these people. In some areas, because of the build-up of heat, fires may smolder underground and flare up next year. We all need to be vigilant.
Thank you to the school districts and staff for helping out and for offers of assistance. Well done! Thank you to Alex Telford in Williams Lake, Deb Sansome with Ashcroft, and Nino Maletta in Prince George. n
