All summer we’ve had a steady stream of evacuations from fires in British Columbia, to floods in Texas and Louisiana and Florida, to a fire that threatens a national park and a community in Waterton Alta.
In each case, officials asked, ordered or begged residents and visitors to get out of certain specific areas that were under threat from fires or storms. In each case, officials did so with the concern for safety of individuals, first and foremost, in their minds.
In a lot of cases, citizens responded as requested. Some folks in British Columbia have gone through multiple evacuations this summer as fires changed direction or grew in intensity.
But there is always a stubborn few who think the evacuation orders apply to others, or at least don’t apply to them. They don’t believe a fire or a storm will really be that dangerous. Or, they think the warnings are overstated, that it won’t be bad and that they can ride out the storm and protect their properties.
These are usually the same folks who wonder why no one came to their assistance when they called 911.
I was interested to hear that first responders in Florida do not respond when winds reach 45 miles per hour. The winds from Hurricane Irma, a Category 4 storm, were estimated to be in the 135 miles per hour range as the storm moved up Florida’s west coast.
Watch below: Some videos from Global News’ ongoing coverage of Hurricane Irma.
It comes down to whether or not first responders should have to put their own lives in jeopardy to save someone who wouldn’t obey an evacuation directive. It’s one thing if mobility issues prevent a person from leaving a disaster zone. It’s quite something else, in my view, if bravado trumps common sense.