Evacuees in B.C.'s Shuswap struggle to cope with anxiety, angst over wildfire threat
B.C. Wildfire Service says more than 200 firefighters are actively fighting the Bush Creek East fire
For 50 years Pilinka Wiseman has lived in Lee Creek, a community on the north shore of Shuswap Lake in B.C.'s southern Interior, and never before had she faced a wildfire threat like the one she experienced a few days ago.
Wiseman is one of 11,000 people who were forced to flee their homes due to a huge, fast-moving fire, now known as Bush Creek East, late last week.
"My place so far, on a good note, is safe," she said from an evacuation centre in Kamloops, around 60 kilometres to the southwest, on Wednesday. "But my neighbours have lost their homes."
Wiseman was one of several evacuees who shared their story while registering or renewing services for accommodation, food and other support at the emergency centre, which was set up in a sports arena in the city.
They've been facing days of stress and anxiety from fleeing the fire, not knowing the state of their properties and how long they will have to live elsewhere before being able to return home.
'Lots of adrenaline going on'
Days before the evacuation order came, Wiseman worked to set up sprinklers around her property, where she lives alone, and drape it with tarps.
She said even though she left 20 minutes after the evacuation order came, it was still a close call.
"When I drove out the hillside … was on flames. It was just fire, right there, so that was pretty freaky," she said. "Lots of adrenaline going on, even just talking about it, I can feel it rising up again."
Wiseman spent the next few days in Chase, around 12 kilometres to the southwest, helping get supplies to her neighbours who stayed behind, before she ended up at the Kamloops evacuation centre, where she slept Tuesday night.
"I'm feeling pretty good at the moment, but on the North Shuswap, they're struggling for food. They're struggling for gas. They're struggling for first aid supplies," she said with tears in her eyes.
"It's just beyond belief that there's not more help. Like, I can't even say the words. I'm speechless."
Many of the evacuees staying in the Kamloops area and visiting the emergency centre are concerned over co-ordination between Shuswap locals doing what they can to protect homes and the official provincial response.
"It's just the lack of communication that is so frustrating," said Karen Freeman.
She and her husband Irvin moved to Anglemont, further east along the north shore of Shuswap Lake, seven years ago as a retired couple. They are now living at a hotel in Kamloops, waiting for word about when they can return.
"It's very emotional. It's very stressful," said Karen Freeman. "We just want to go home. Everyone wants to go home, not just us. Everyone. We want to get back to our lives."
"That would be amazing, but I don't expect to be back home for a little while," said Irvin.
Their home is across the street from Anglemont's fire department, and the couple believes it has been spared.
The B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) said Wednesday that the Bush Creek East wildfire threatening the Shuswap region had decreased behaviour due to Tuesday night's heavy rainfall.
Information officer Forrest Tower said some areas received 20 millimetres of rain, and the reduction in smoke has allowed helicopter access to parts of the fire that have been difficult to reach. More than 200 firefighters are in the area.
B.C. Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma said on Wednesday that BCWS is speaking with community members who have skills that can aid in a co-ordinated wildfire fight. Tower said the collaboration would expedite an eventual return for residents.
Ma said supplies, such as food, have been taken to several communities, including Anglemont.
Damage assessment coming soon
Meanwhile, evacuees like Eva Saul, who is a member of the Adams Lake Indian Band, are trying to take the evacuation in stride. She and several members of her family were all forced out of their homes.
"We just talked to somebody in Chase who said that it looks good, that everything looks good," she said about the state of her home. "I hope I get to go home this week."
The Columbia Shuswap Regional District said an assessment of structures that were burned could come as early as Wednesday night or Thursday.
The Thompson-Nicola Regional District (TNRD) said in the Bush Creek fire area that it was responsible for, nine properties were destroyed and two were damaged.
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With files from Canadian Press