Self-evacuating due to smoky skies not best practice: EMBC

For those who haven’t experienced weeks of grey, smoky, ashy skies, Bates’s sentiment may seem common sense. But it’s not just the annoying smell and the dark skies that impact people — it’s the health risks that come along with the smoke.

It can be especially irritating for people with chronic health conditions, seniors, small children and pregnant women.

But Bates says despite the fact some people want to self-evacuate due to exceptionally smoky conditions — it’s not always in their best interest.

“We’ve been working very closely with the provincial health officer on wildfire smoke in general. Their recommendation is that people not evacuate due to smoke, and only evacuate if directed by an emergency authority,” he says. “Smoky conditions shift and move; self evacuating to another community doesn’t guarantee a person’s exposure will be reduced. The unnecessary relocation or travel will only add stress and anxiety that can also have negative health effects.”

Instead, Bates says, the focus needs to be put on communities’ preparedness for not only wildfires, but the smoke that comes with them. That could include setting up clean air spaces in buildings like malls and community centres, and residents having portable air filtration systems on hand.

As for funding for smoke evacuees — Bates says people can’t rely on the province.

“We don’t encourage people to self-evacuate and make their own (evacuation) decisions. If they do, they cannot expect support when they’re making their own determination,” he says. “We look to local authorities, local governments including First Nations communities leadership to make the determinations of whether people need to leave.

“Certainly there are some exceptions where individuals have been recommended by a healthcare professional or others that they need to be closer to a major medical centre. We would love to support those individuals who have a valid reason for evacuating, but those aren’t decisions that would be made by the individual. They’re in consultation with an expert.”

According to a review published on the BC Centre of Disease Control’s website, the effectiveness of clean air shelters has rarely been evaluated when compared to self evacuation — but one instance in California was looked at. It came from a fire in 1999 at the Hoopa Valley National Indian Reserve.

That study found providing portable air filters was more effecting than evacuation at reducing symptoms among those with a history of cardiopulmonary symptoms or disease.

The 1999 wildfire burned for more than two months, leading to two weeks of hazardous smoke for the population on the reserve.

“Given the risk of harm to individuals as a result of evacuation, it is important to weigh evacuation-related harm against the harm of staying in the area during a fire smoke event,” the review states.

Bates tells CFJC Today that EMBC’s focus will be on public education before this year’s wildfire season, with the message of preparing your homes adequately at the forefront. He adds a crucial part to each wildfire season is the volunteers that step up.

“Our system is based on volunteers, and I can’t press enough how appreciative and grateful we are for all the volunteers across B.C. that assist their communities when they have these evacuations. And that extends of course to all the general host communities, places like Kamloops, Prince George and others that have opened their doors in the last couple of years to host regional evacuees and deal with these very complex things, airing on the side of compassion when they’re dealing with people who have been displaced from their homes in a very difficult time.”

by Ashley Legassic

Self-evacuating due to smoky skies not best practice: EMBC

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