B.C. prepares for fire evacuations, displacements amid health-care staffing crisis
The officials tasked with preparing for and responding to natural disasters in the province are bracing for widespread evacuations of B.C. communities as they eye tinder-dry conditions that are already prompting dire predictions of a brutal wildfire season.
Overnight lodging for displaced British Columbians, continuity of medical care, food and water, transportation corridors are all considerations by the two agencies responsible for the co-ordination of various provincial resources.
“With it being much hotter and drier (than usual), we anticipate more evacuations will be occurring in a larger scope and scale,” said Pader Brach, executive director of operations for the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness
“We are very aware we've had an early start to the season and what comes with that is increased efforts regarding planning and preparing for impacts to communities.”
Brach echoed a warning from the BC Wildfire Service that it’s a matter of “when, not if” much of the province will face a potential wildfire evacuation this summer and he also encouraged planning in advance, including arranging to stay with friends and family and packing important documents in advance of an evacuation order.
During the pandemic, hotel rooms had been widely available for evacuees, but now that the tourism sector has bounced back, the ministry is compiling a list of community centres, gymnasiums, and campsites to host evacuees.
CONTINUITY OF HEALTHCARE A SPECIAL CHALLENGE
Health Emergency Management BC, the provincial agency responsible for co-ordination and cooperation between health authorities and other agencies, acknowledged that this year their job is particularly challenging considering the staffing crisis at hospitals like Surrey Memorial, which is already seeking urgent personnel support from outside the health authority.
“We look at a variety of tools and techniques to organize ourselves, to communicate, so we can deliver more service with the same amount of people – it's difficult work,” said HEMBC provincial operations director, Gerry Delorme.
He said that two of the province’s four “hospitals in a box” are already in Prince George, in a strategic move to be prepared for wildfires like the historic Donnie Creek Complex, which has already forced people from their homes.
“When you think about evacuees, don't only think about long-term care homes or hospitals evacuating, when communities evacuate we have to maintain what we call ‘continuity of care,’” said Delorme. “People who reside in their homes may need dialysis, may need chemotherapy.”
When CTV News asked if he expected to hire more nurses through for-profit staffing agencies to fill the gaps, he said that while HEMBC advises health authorities on strategy and many other issues, staffing decisions and policies are up to them.
EMERGENCY TEXT ALERTS COULD BE MORE COMMON
Late last year, British Columbia authorized the emergency text alert system, AlertReady, for use in flood, wildfire, amber alert, and other notifications.
B.C. has been a laggard in using the technology with the capabilities poorly understood and unused during the fatal flooding in the 2021 atmospheric river event. Criticism reached a boiling point after that disaster and the policy was changed in the months that followed.
Alberta has already issued 135 texts related to wildfire warnings this year, with Nova Scotia sending 24; there have been six in B.C. https://www.alertready.ca/alert-count/#2023
When CTV News asked Brach if he planned to use them proactively, for example to warn anyone entering the zone of an evacuation alert, he said that’s on the table but not a provincial decision.
“If requested by communities to utilize the broadcast intrusive or AlertReady tool, (the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness) certainly will be in a position to support communities to do that,” he said.
“We have to be flexible and we have to be able to move quickly when required.”
CTVNews.ca Top Stories
'Shameful': Monument honouring fallen soldiers included names of living veterans
Veterans are asking for answers after discovering that two sculptures in Ontario honouring fallen soldiers include the names of many people who are very much alive.
'If it ain't broke don't fix it': U.S. ambassador warns Canada against cutting Mexico out of trilateral trade deal
Cutting Mexico out of the current North American free trade deal 'may not be the best path to take,' says U.S. Ambassador to Canada David Cohen.
Canada's air force took video of object shot down over Yukon, updated image released
The Canadian military has released more details and an updated image of the unidentified object shot down over Canada's Yukon territory in February 2023.
Cookie inflation: How much more is your holiday baking costing you this year?
Estimate how much more your Christmas cookies will cost to bake this year compared to the past five years using Statistics Canada's monthly average retail price data.
Smash and grab: Canada sees a spike in jewelry store robberies
Many cities across Canada are seeing a spike in jewelry store robberies in recent months.
Invasive species could be hiding in your Christmas decor. Here's how to stop the spread
Make sure to look through your holiday decorations, as Christmas trees, wreaths, and other natural decor can have invasive insects, eggs, and plants that pose a threat to local ecosystems and the economy.
This watch was carved from a meteorite that hit Earth a million years ago
A new watch from design duo Toledano & Chan has been carved from a meteorite that slammed into Earth around one million years ago.
Police find bag carried by gunman who killed UnitedHealthcare's CEO, say he likely fled NYC on bus
Investigators found a backpack in Central Park that was carried by the shooter, police said Friday, following a massive sweep to find it in a vast area with lakes and ponds, meadows, playgrounds and a densely wooded section called 'The Ramble.'
A police photographer recounts the harrowing day of the Polytechnique massacre
Montreal crime scene photographer Harold Rosenberg witnessed a lot of horror over his 30 years on the job, though nothing of the magnitude of what he captured with his lens at the Polytechnique on Dec. 6, 1989. He described the day of the Montreal massacre to CTV Quebec Bureau Chief Genevieve Beauchemin.