The Regional District Central Okanagan (RDCO) is launching a public awareness and engagement campaign as the freshet and wildfire seasons approach.
Staff told the RDCO Board at its April 11 meeting that the initiative aims to assess and enhance residents’ preparedness for emergencies.
“The overarching goal is to encourage communities to take steps to be better prepared,” said Kari O’Rourke, communications officer.
Campaign goals include ensuring residents know where to get emergency information, how to put together a 72-hour emergency kit, and how to support neighbours.
Referencing the McDougall Creek wildfire, West Kelowna May Gord Milsom said he would like evacuation, alert and emergency services registration information put out quickly during an emergency.
“We don’t know when we’re going to be faced with another wildfire, but it’s on the minds of our residents, particularly after last year,” he added. “We want to make sure they know what to do if they’re called upon to leave their homes again.”
The NDP government was criticized for a backlog of evacuees waiting for support and accommodation during the McDougall Creek fire.
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Milsom’s neighbour to the south, Peachland Mayor Patrick Van Minsel pointed out that while communication is key, getting the public’s attention is equally important.
He used the low turnout for his community’s FireSmart Open House on April 6 as an example.
“A hundred of my residents, it’s not even one per cent of the total population,” he said. “The way that we found is best to communicate with them, is having a newsletter direct in their mailbox.”
Van Minsel added the board could also lobby senior government for additional funding for wildfire mitigation work.
A grant for residents to FireSmart their properties was recently increased to $1,000 from $500. Lake Country Mayor Blair Ireland felt that amount is still not enough.
“Many of these private properties are like guns pointed at our communities and their neighbours,” he said. “We’re not incentivizing those people enough.”
The Community Readiness Public Engagement runs from April 15 to May 12 and will include open houses, and media campaigns.
Additional resources are available on the Central Okanagan Emergency Operations and British Columbia FireSmart websites.
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