Once again, Kamloops emergency operations centre a beehive of activity

“I understand that the military is going to send in 325 personnel this way this week, along with 100 personnel from Mexico this weekend. And that’s greatly appreciated. It’s something that I’ve asked for for probably the last three weeks.”

In Kamloops, the emergency operations centre (EOC) has been activated several times in the past year. At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, during recent fires near Juniper Ridge and Aberdeen neighbourhoods and now during the provincial state of emergency.

Dan Sutherland is the assistant fire chief with Kamloops Fire Rescue, and has been an EOC Liaison, and Emergency Program Coordinator at the EOC for about a decade. He and the rest of EOC staff are trained to respond to everything from fires, sewer main breaks, public health emergencies, floods and any other emergency.

The centre has a permanent location, can be run on a back-up generator in case of a widespread power outage, and is equipped for immediate use. Inside, a variety of regional maps, computers and phone systems are set up for EOC staff to work with.

“If we need Fortis, BC Hydro, those types of things, Trans Mountain pipelines, those folks can also be invited into this room.” explains Sutherland. “We all have everybody’s cards and we know who to talk to at 2:00 in the morning. And they come in to aid us and we work together to facilitate and mitigate the event as best we can with the incident commander.”

When asked what the state of emergency does at the local level, Sutherland says he can’t speculate on what specific things the province is going to do, but any support is welcome.

“From our perspective at the EOC level, I think it will just make it easier for the province to support us.”

Sutherland notes that it has been all hands on deck for the Thompson-Nicola Regional District, Tk’emlups te Secwepemc and the City of Kamloops — but the EOC has been ready for it all.

“We’re prepared. We’re here, we’re well trained, and we’re very proud of what we do.”

The EOC’s core team at work. (Image Credit: City of Kamloops)

As part of the wildfire response, Emergency Management BC has implemented an online registration system for evacuees, so there are no line-ups at the ESS centre on McArthur Island. Inside, ESS Coordinator Rebecca Cooke says supports for evacuees are divvied up by a small army of volunteers — equipped with phones, laptops and ESS training.

“So far, over 1,300 evacuees have come to McArthur Island. We have provided over 2,500 vouchers to support those people, and our volunteers have provided over 4,500 hours so far since June 29.”

For more information on ESS in Kamloops, or how to volunteer, click here.

Accommodations aren’t available in Kamloops at this time, so people are being asked to stay with friends or family, or they’re given a gas voucher to go to another city.

While the BC Government has not stated what its plans are, the newly enacted state of emergency does give it the power to secure accommodation spaces.

Image Credit: Adam Donnelly / CFJC Today

by Dylana Kneeshaw

Once again, Kamloops emergency operations centre a beehive of activity

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