The residents of the south side of Francois Lake are asking for more help to fight the ongoing fire in their community.
Pam Herman has gone to her Facebook page and asked the B.C. Wildfire Service to keep crews in her community 24 hours a day.
Currently, the crews arrive in the morning near the Takysie Lake Resort and then leave in the later afternoon to return by ferry to the Burns Lake area.
“Now…I’m no rocket scientist, but I can do that math and the time lost and wasted due to that decision is such a slap in the face to this community, that it stings…and it stings badly,” writes Herman. “I watched an entire crew of about 30 people, after being over here only a few hours, get in their vehicles, turn around and head for a boat around 6 PM.”
The Verdun, Nadina Lake and Island Lake wildfires are all burning on the south side of the lake. Much of the area is on evacuation order and alert, with some residents staying behind to protect their property.
According to Herman’s post there were some crews working on structural protection on Sunday night. There is a public meeting set for Monday at 5:30 p.m. at the Grassy Plains School.
WATCH: Lingering smoke from B.C.’s wildfires poses health risks
The greatest concern for residents is the area near the Takysie Lake Resort where fire flareups could jeopardize people’s homes. The residents are asking the B.C. Wildfire Service crews to stay on the south side overnight, either billeted with homeowners or camping, rather than go back and forth on the ferry each day.
“It is a massive waste of time. And now there will not be anyone to perform structural protection at night…no night ops to watch out for us,” Herman wrote.
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“There will be no one going out and about ensuring that homes are protected. They have done an amazing job setting things up, but there are a lot of holes yet in that system due to lack of resources and there are a lot of fires burning…and a big one on the way.”
WATCH HERE: Prince George left in the dark as wildfires rage
The community is thankful for the support for the firefighters, but residents are frustrated about decisions made by “bureaucrats.”
“I had one of the women come up to me with tears in her eyes and tell me how sorry she was that this was happening to us,” writes Herman. ” I’ve had Red Shirts help pack out things to our trailer for us the one time that we agreed to leave the grounds, if only for a few hours and they helped us with whatever crazy thing we wanted to pack. They were calm and sincere and I have always felt in the best of hands knowing they were here.”
Evacuation order in Klinaklini Lake area
The Cariboo Regional District has issued an evacuation order for 14 properties in the Klinaklini Lake area. The only way to be evacuated is by helicopter and the RCMP are assisting in getting people out. Evacuees are being asked to register at the reception centre at the Lake City Secondary School Campus in Williams Lake.
Progress being made in Kootenay National Park
Parks Canada has provided an update to the Wardle wildfire in Kootenay National Park, with significant progress being made towards containing the fire. The fire is not expected to spread beyond the existing boundaries.
As of Monday morning, two area closures at the north end of Kootenay National Park are lifted, including northern section of the Rockwall trail north of Tumbling Pass.
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