Image Credit: CFJC News

By Amandalina Letterio

Wildfire Season

B.C. Wildlife Park plans for future evacuations

Jul 8, 2021 | 5:18 PM

KAMLOOPS — The recent Juniper Ridge wildfire has motivated many Kamloops residents to have an evacuation plan, and the BC Wildlife Park is refining its strategy to save the animals, too.

“We did a drill yesterday, where we look at everything. We try and look at all the different scenarios that we would have,” Tracy Reynolds, animal care manager at BC Wildlife Park told CFJC News on Thursday (July 8).

The evacuation plan will consist of staff putting most of the animals into crates. Crates are now placed by each animal’s living area so that they are easily accessible if an emergency arises.

Reynolds noted that, if a fire ignites, the safety of the staff will be top priority, but they will do everything they can to ensure the animals find refuge.

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Not all animals can be saved in a wildfire situation, and unfortunately, they can’t be set free either.

“Our animals are habituated to people, so letting them free would be a danger to people who are trying to put out the fires. So we cannot,” Reynolds added.

A fire isn’t the only thing that could affect the animals’ safety. The BC Wildlife Park has been nursing birds back to health from heat exhaustion and despite some rain in Kamloops Wednesday night, Environment Canada says the hot weather is here to stay.

“We had that record dry spring, and leading into a dry June, and then the excruciating unprecedented heat. And now I’m worried about wildfires throughout the summer,” explained Doug Lundquist, meteorologist at Environment Canada.

As for smoke in the air, it’s harder on the birds as well.

“They seem to be a bit more effected, so we do change what we do with them in the smoke. Again, we don’t ask a lot of them, we just let them rest and take it easy,” Reynolds continued.

The BC Wildlife Park has received more than 20 birds that were found suffering from heat exhaustion in the past week.

They are currently accepting donations to nurse the birds back to health, as it costs around $200 per day to feed and house them.

And if fire ignites, rest assured, the Wildlife Park has a plan.

“It’s something we hate to think about, but we do what we can with a terrible situation,” Reynolds added.

Donate to help animals in distress from the heat wave here.