Communication issues, treatment of residents who didn’t evacuate highlight feedback to CSRD following Bush Creek East wildfire
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SCOTCH CREEK, B.C. — Hundreds of residents within the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) provided the district their feedback regarding their experiences during the Bush Creek East wildfire in the North Shuswap last summer.
According to a 203-page report released Thursday (April 11), the CSRD says 473 residents took part in the survey with 366 of them completing it. Ahead of the four in-person sessions and two virtual sessions held in March, the CSRD says it was seeking feedback so it can carry out some, but likely not all, of the suggestions for improvement ahead of the 2024 wildfire season.
The CSRD states common talking points across all the sessions include the timing of the evacuation alert on Aug. 18, 2023, a lack of communication, difficulties with its Alertable app, treatment of residents who chose not to evacuate and better signage for emergency exits. The CSRD says the Bush Creek East wildfire destroyed 176 structures and damaged 50.
“We know the community was anxious to share their thoughts, and we appreciate that so many residents took the time to share,” John MacLean, CSRD chief administrative officer says. “Having recently received the report ourselves, it has a lot of information to review. We are spending some time at a staff level to digest what was heard and to look at how those learnings can be incorporated into our emergency plans.”
