Civilians are the newest resource in B.C.’s battle against Bush Creek East wildfire

The Bush Creek East wildfire is still burning steadily at around 43,000 hectares in size, but the BC Wildfire Service has deployed a new resource to help contain it — civilians.

Around 17 Shuswap-area residents were sent to the front lines Monday, according to public information officer Mike McCulley. They were trained over the weekend and are now being paid for their efforts.

“We’re happy to hire them and make sure they’re safe and put them to work within the workable ground that we have,” McCulley said in a press conference.

“We have to make sure we have objectives that are achievable for these folks and we certainly do right now.”

More community members are expected to join the firefight in the days to come. An initial team was deployed on Sunday, McCulley said.

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The initiative to train and deploy civilians in the firefight has great “expandability,” according to Cliff Chapman, director of operations for the BC Wildfire Service.

“Climate-related emergency hazards are on the rise in B.C. and with it, we need to be willing to adjust, we need to be willing to evolve, we need to be willing to learn from the things that we’re experiencing right now,” he said at a provincial update on Monday afternoon.

“What’s happening in the Shuswap, I think, is a great collective effort from the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, the local residents of that area and BC Wildfire service — really working together to try to achieve a common objective, a common outcome of protecting people’s homes and getting people home sooner.”

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As of Monday, more than 250 wildland firefighters, 84 support staff and 17 helicopters were working to contain the Bush Creek East fire, burning on both sides of the Adams and Shuswap lakes. An incident management team, 79 pieces of heavy equipment and 97 structural protection personnel are also on-site.

Within the roster are firefighters from South Africa, in addition to the civilian group.

McCulley said winds are expected to pick up in the area on Tuesday, possibly bringing an increase in fire activity, but crews are hopeful for some rain in the evening.

The firefight in Sorrento has been particularly challenging, where terrain is steep and crews can’t be deployed, he added. That’s where the wildfire service is focusing its bucketing efforts.

There’s no major growth above Magna Bay or Celista for the moment, McCulley said, and crews are using infrared scanners attached to drones to identify hotspots in need of attention.

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The Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) has now begun contacting property owners in the North Shuswap who have lost their homes.

In the days since the fire began, McCulley said infrastructure in the region has sustained a “massive amount of damage,” including hundreds of downed power lines, burned poles and danger trees on roads.

Last week, officials estimated 131 structures had been lost, with another 37 partially damaged.

Firefighters are now grappling with the additional safety concern of wildlife entering communities, attracted to the smell of rotting food from abandoned homes.

John MacLean, chief administrative officer for the CSRD, said waste receptacles are being sent to stores and fire halls to safely dispose of some of the attractants. A separate plan to deal with residential waste from fridges and freezers is also in the works, he added.

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An evacuation order in Turtle Valley was partially rescinded over the weekend, but still applies to 57 properties in the community southeast of Little Shuswap Lake. More than 200 properties remain under evacuation alert due to the Bush Creek East wildfire.

A new evacuation alert was issued for part of Anglemont on Saturday as well, while an evacuation order was downgraded to an alert in the Skimikin area.

The district continues to advise the public that a boil water notice is in effect for users of the Sorrento and MacArthur Reedman water systems along Highway 1 between Caouette Road and Blind Bay Road.