VANCOUVER — A hot, dry forecast for the long weekend has prompted the BC Wildfire Service to warn residents of the high potential for evacuation orders, a day after announcing out-of-province firefighting assistance is en route to British Columbia.
The wildfire service sent the warning Saturday morning, saying much of the province was dealing with intense wildfires that would likely continue due to the weather, and residents need to be ready to leave as soon as an evacuation is ordered.
Kyla Fraser of the BC Wildfire Service said the Okanagan region is seeing the most activity resulting in evacuation alerts, though two newer wildfires broke out in the Bulkley-Nechako regional district this week prompting evacuation orders.
“Those would be the two highest priority areas — the Northwest Fire Centre, and the Kamloops Fire Centre,” said Fraser from Kamloops, B.C., about 900 kilometres southeast of the Northwest Fire Centre in Smithers, B.C.
Fraser said residents in areas near wildfires should be checking in with their regional districts often, and can use the province’s interactive map on the wildfire service website to track evacuation orders, alerts and wildfires.
A state of emergency was declared on Friday in the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, with evacuation orders in place for three properties in the area.
Erick Thompson with the Emergency Operations Centre for the region said anyone near wildfire areas should create a plan before they leave.
The plan should include cleaning up potentially flammable materials, Thompson said, as embers from the fires can spread in a wide vicinity and ignite things such as dry leaves in gutters or gasoline left behind.
“A lot of times people may be storing fuel cans under their patios, or even a lawnmover if it has fuel in it, its a good idea to move it far away from your home,” he said.
One of the most important things to have handy, he said, is what he calls a “grab and go” bag. It should have copies of critical documentation such as birth certificates and passports, medicine and prescriptions, comfort items for children, and any family pets.
“If all of a sudden someone knocks on your door form search and rescue or BC Wildfire and says you have to leave your home, it’s good to have something available,” Thompson said.
He said that many public shelters won’t be able to accommodate animals, and pet and hobby animal owners should plan to stay with family or friends outside the evacuation area, or find a pet-friendly hotel.
Animals often get lost or disoriented in an evacuation, Thompson added, so owners are advised to have a way to quickly identify their animals, such as pictures.
“Horses may have brands but many don’t, so as a precaution you may want to braid a small tag with your name and contact information into the mane of the horse or somewhere he can’t reach,” he said, adding that most livestock should already have brands, tattoos and tags.
On Friday, the BC Wildfire Service confirmed almost three dozen firefighters from Alberta and the Northwest Territories arrived Thursday, while another 20 firefighters and 10 support staff coming from Saskatchewan are scheduled to arrive Sunday.
Sixty-five support staff and firefighters from New Zealand as well as 62 firefighters from Mexico are scheduled to arrive in B.C. on Monday, joining more than 2,200 people already battling blazes across the province.
Fraser said the out-of-province help will let the BC Wildfire Service put more manpower on high priority fires, and will give B.C.’s firefighters a much-needed breather.
“We want to make sure we’re pacing our own people, there’s still a little over a month of summer left and August has been off to a very busy start,” Fraser said.
Requests for out-of-province assistance with wildfires go through the Canadian Interagency Forest Fire Centre which co-ordinates the sharing of firefighting resources within Canada. They are also responsible for international forest fire aid coming to the country.
“This will certainly be some much appreciated help,” she said.