B.C. Interior communities open their hearts to evacuees, first responders during wildfire crisis
'We need to understand that most people are good': Lake Country Mayor Blair Ireland
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Amid the wildfire crisis, the character of people in B.C.'s southern Interior communities is shining through as business owners, non-profit organizations and residents step up to lend a helping hand to first responders and those affected by wildfires.
Michael Vu, the co-owner of the Hanoi 36 Vietnamese restaurant and Weekends Restaurant and Lounge in downtown Salmon Arm, B.C., joined forces with other food businesses in town to offer free meals to evacuees from neighbouring communities across the Shuswap region.
Vu, who had previously provided free meals to local community members during the COVID-19 pandemic, said his restaurants gave out barbecue pork sandwiches, water and soft drinks on Sunday from noon to 3 p.m. PT. He also facilitated access to Wi-Fi and the restrooms in his restaurants.
"Everybody is in distress, and the [Salmon Arm] community needs to show its support from the surrounding communities — people [are] losing their homes," he said.
According to the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD), more than 3,000 people have been evacuated from their homes due to the Lower East Adams Lake and the Bush Creek East wildfires, which merged into a single large fire on Saturday.
The fires have devastated the communities of Scotch Creek and Celista on the north shore of Shuswap Lake, a popular tourist destination around 150 kilometres north of Kelowna. The CSRD directed evacuees from these areas to head to the evacuation centre in Salmon Arm.
'We are there to help anyone in need'
In the Central Okanagan, more than 10,000 people have been displaced from their homes due to the Grouse Complex, which comprises the McDougall Creek wildfire in West Kelowna, the Clarke Creek wildfire in Lake Country, and an unnamed blaze near Kelowna.
Navjit Khun Khun, a Kelowna-based lawyer who is also a key member of the Sikh-affiliated non-profit organization Khalsa Aid International, has been co-ordinating volunteers to assist in distributing hot meals, drinks, bedding, blankets and pet supplies to people staying in evacuation centres in the three affected communities.
"We are there to help anyone in need, regardless of caste, colour, religion — none of that matters to us," she said.
While evacuees wait to return home, an army of firefighting personnel, including those from municipal fire departments across the province, have been working day and night to safeguard hundreds of properties, according to Jason Brolund, chief of the West Kelowna Fire and Rescue service.
Svitlana Shkyn, a general manager at a Marriott hotel in West Kelowna, is mobilizing volunteers with the Ukrainian Canadian Volunteer Association to prepare and distribute traditional Ukrainian dishes, such as borscht and nalysnyky crepes, to front-line first responders.
"The Ukrainian Canadian Volunteer Association is assisting Canadians in West Kelowna during the disaster by arranging and offering delightful Ukrainian lunches, including Ukrainian borscht and other delectable treats," said Shkyn in a written statement.
'Most people care about their neighbours'
Ian Palmer, a resident of Lake Country, took the initiative to purchase dozens of ice cream cups from Scooter's Ice Cream, a Kelowna-based truck that sells ice cream, and distributed them to weary first responders who are working in his community.
"[This] might not be much, but bring a smile and bring a little bit of positive to the community when it's going through a tough time," Palmer said.
The benevolence has not gone unnoticed — B.C. Premier David Eby and Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness Bowinn Ma made a point of commending the local response at a news conference on Monday.
Lake Country Mayor Blair Ireland says these acts of kindness reveal the best side of humanity during crises.
"There are lots of little problems going on out there … but I think we need to understand that most people are good — most people care about their neighbours and their friends, and all these little stories really help me think more positively," he told host Chris Walker on CBC's Daybreak South.
With files from Daybreak South, Baneet Braich, Brady Strachan and Zameer Karim