Walking through ashes and rubble, Radha McAllister looks out over the plot where her home used to be. She points to where a deck once stood and where an entrance led to a laundry room.
For four years, she, her husband and their children lived in the three-storey house on the off-grid property in Venables Valley. Then, the fire came.
“We’re now at the point where my husband started work today. He’s a teacher,” McAllister said. “My kids have to start school and we’re not settled. We don’t have a long-term place yet.”
The Shetland Creek wildfire tore through the Venables Valley in July. Strong winds caused two fires to merge, forcing everyone who lived in the area to flee. While fire smart techniques helped save most of the homes, six houses and eight cabins were destroyed.
Six weeks later, residents of the remote community are facing new challenges as some return to ruin and are now left with the task of trying to rebuild.
Because the community is off-grid, many of those who live there don’t have insurance either by choice, involuntarily or because of the high cost.
Adding to the challenge, the province’s state of emergency was lifted Wednesday, and funding through the Emergency Support Services (ESS) program will also dry up for many in the near future.
“That’s daunting,” McAllister said as she fought back tears. “We still have a mortgage to pay on our ashes. And we have to find a place to rent.”
Tricia Thorpe is the director of the Thompson-Nicola Regional District Area I, also known as Blue Sky Country. She has spent the last few days leading media and politicians through the disaster zone.
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“We’re trying to get as much exposure so that people have an understanding of what is and isn’t happening there,” she said.
She says there is a lack of consistency when it comes to how long British Columbians may receive ESS.
“There are people in Lytton that were on emergency support services for more than two years. There were people in the regional district that were on it for like six to eight months,” she said.
“I think we need to have a more level playing field to help people that are impacted here, regardless of where they live.”
Thorpe says the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness declined to help with cleanup and some aid funding is coming out of a regional district grant.
“They say that if it’s an insurable event, they won’t cover it. But this is not an insurable event. These people cannot get insurance. They need help,” she said, adding municipalities would have such funds covered.
“There’s an invisible line of whether you’re municipal or whether you’re regional district. If you were municipal, it would have been covered. If your regional district, you’ve reached that cap, that’s it. You’re on your own.”
Government organizations, non-profits, charities and community organizations have all been around to help with the cleanup of the community, Thorpe says, including removing trees and home debris.
However, the community also has long term needs.
“It’s just so sad because winter’s coming. What are the people that have lost a primary residence going to do?” she said, adding things like private roads, sanders, and a plow truck were lost in the fire.
Many communal tools were kept on Mark Greenberg’s property. He estimates around $200,000 in both his and communal property were lost when his home went up in flames.
He estimates cleanup costs could be an even harder hit for locals as they navigate toxic chemicals and dangerous debris.
Thorpe says she has been trying to meet with Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma in person. A Zoom call was scheduled for Thursday.
Greenberg would like to see a government insurance program for those who are unable to access private insurance.
“It’s not rocket science. Let’s get on this, he said.
“When I lived in the city, I had that insurance… I know there’s thousands of homeowners that would be happy to pay for that, but it can’t be on the calculations of a traditional insurance company program where they have shareholders that they got, talk to.”
Meanwhile, McAllister says she understands her family’s choice to live where they do, but she would like to see ESS supports continue so she and her family can get back on their feet.
“I know no one’s responsible for me, but it would be nice,” she said.
Despite the difficult road ahead of them, McAllister says her family would rather not have to leave the community. She and others in the community have set up a fundraiser and have been campaigning on social media in an attempt to raise money for all the community’s needs.
“Despite, the grim way things are looking, we want to stay here because we absolutely adore this community and we love the lifestyle,” she said. “If we don’t stick together, we’re lost.”
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