As the Central Kootenays face several wildfires forcing evacuation alerts and orders, the Regional District of Central Kootenay has issued a reminder on what to do if you’re under one.
Evacuation Alert:
An evacuation alert is issued to ensure community members are aware of a possible threat of wildfires in their area and to provide time to prepare for evacuation.
Dan Seguin, Emergency Operations Centre Director with the RDCK, says residents who are under an evacuation alert should make sure they have plans in place so they’re ready to go at a moment’s notice.
“That’s the time that I’ve got to get my grab-and-go bag, get important documents, medication, understand where my pets are, where my family is, and have that plan prepared,” he said.
“Think about what’s going to happen if our cell phone towers go down. What’s going to be my meeting point and my way of communicating if I can’t rely on cell phones? An alert is an early warning that you should be ready to go at a moment’s notice.”
An evacuation alert is only issued on the recommendation of the BC Wildfire Service based on their predictions of fire behaviour and upcoming weather events based on a specific fire.
Evacuation Order:
An evacuation order is only issued when there is an imminent threat to public safety, and means residents must leave the area immediately.
Seguin said when an order is issued, individuals will go door to door and hand out evacuation notices, and residents who have signed up for the RDCK’s Voyent Alert! System will receive a digital notification or phone call letting them know they must leave.
“When there’s an evacuation order, that comes in parallel with declaring a state of local emergency for either that regional district, electoral area or that municipality. That’s when you’ve got maybe five minutes to grab the things that you’ve put by the door, put them into your vehicle, and get out of the area.”
Seguin strongly advises anyone who hasn’t signed up for the RDCK’s emergency alert system to do so immediately; a link can be found here.
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