North Shuswap residents compelled to stay and protect their communities while under evacuation order are being asked by the deputy regional fire chief to step aside and let trained firefighters take over.
North Shuswap residents have told Castanet they believe people who have disobeyed evacuation orders to fight the Bush Creek East fire have helped save structures. They say they are frustrated police have tried to stop them from delivering supplies or moving around areas under evacuation order.
In a video update posted by the Columbia Shuswap Regional District on Wednesday, Sean Coubrough thanked residents from Scotch Creek, Anglemont, Celista, Magna Bay and St. Ives for pulling together as the Bush Creek East wildfire impacted the area.
“When I saw the flames coming that day, it was something bigger than any of us could handle,” he said.
“But the community rallied together, they saved what they could save. It was actually among the most impressive displays of community spirit I've ever seen.”
Coubrough asked for the public’s understanding, noting at this time, they are “entering another operational period.”
“We have 13 fire departments in the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, and every single one of them has members to take shifts and work,” he said, adding these members are highly skilled and come with decades of experience.
He said this is being done in the interest of safety, and to allow firefighters — many of whom have lost their own homes — to work more efficiently in the area. Coubrough noted there are many hazards in the area, such as danger trees and ash pits, and traffic on roads can impede fire trucks.
“Unfortunately, we have to cast a bit of a big net to get people off the roads and some really good people are getting caught in it — and we really regret it,” he said.
Coubrough ended his address with this: “I want to stress that we’ve lost structures, people are hurting, but we haven’t lost lives — not yet. Please understand."
Over 130 wildland firefighters and 112 structure protection personnel were deployed to the 41,041-hectare Bush Creek wildfire on Wednesday, and the BC Wildfire Service said more resources are being sent.
"I assure you, our resources are out there, they're out there every day, they're out there for every hour of the day and night continuing to push in guard, continuing to work to try to secure the flanks or the perimeter of that fire," said Cliff Chapman, BCWS director of operations, in a press conference.
"You may not see them all the time, or you may not see hundreds of them congregated within one certain area, but they are out there."
The Bush Creek East wildfire is impacting areas west and east of Adams Lake, north of Shuswap Lake and Little Shuswap Lake and south of Highway 1, between Chase and Sorrento.
The TNRD said Wednesday the fire destroyed structures on nine properties and damaged structures on two more properties within its jurisdiction in the southern Adams Lake area.
Structure loss has also been reported in Celista and Scotch Creek, but the CSRD hasn't yet determined the total number of buildings in its jurisdiction that have been impacted.
