'We've been abandoned': Why anger in the Shuswap is growing over B.C.'s wildfire fighting strategy
From accusations of theft to blocking unauthorized aid to evacuation zones, the disputes are piling up quickly
Across the Shuswap, as small communities enter their fifth day contending with a massive wildfire that has destroyed blocks of homes, one sentiment comes up repeatedly.
"We feel like we've been abandoned," said Tracy Wojciechowski, publisher of the community newsletter North Shuswap Kicker.
"People are exhausted, people are emotional, people aren't getting sleep, and people are frustrated with what appears to have been a lack of communication."
In interview after interview with CBC News, residents from Scotch Creek, Lee Creek and Celista have voiced frustration over how the Bush Creek East Fire, now measured at more than 400 square kilometres, has been handled.
"The whole community of the north Shuswap is very upset because the whole region is crawling with police,"said Jim Cooperman, a writer and longtime North Shuswap resident who evacuated to Kamloops.
From complaints about the initial communication when evacuation orders were put in place, to disputes with B.C. Wildfire Service and police officers brought in to control the situation, to anger over government claims of looting and stealing, a tension has emerged between a government and its people.
The government believes it is in the right as it tells people to trust officials and stop taking equipment. But a large segment of the local population believes they can — and should — play a greater role.
"Call off the police," said Cooperman.
"Let the citizens who are there … fight the fires and deal with the emergency situation that is there."
A tale of 2 wildfires
There are a few reasons anger in the Shuswap appears to be more widespread than in West Kelowna, Kelowna and Lake Country, where many more residents have been evacuated due to the McDougall Creek fire, and up to 200 buildings have been destroyed.
Evacuation orders by the Central Okanagan Regional District were issued regularly throughout Friday, residents were quickly able to access escape routes, and the proximity of a large urban centre meant the BCWS has had a constant visible presence.
By contrast, the Bush Creek fire grew so fast that communication about evacuation orders often lagged behind the reality on the ground. Both the BCWS and Columbia Shuswap Regional District's website had technical issues during the most critical time period, and evacuees had to leave via rural roads or by water.
It meant that BCWS firefighters were in many ways fighting an uphill battle in public perception once they arrived in full force to these smaller, semi-remote communities.
And in the interim, many who had stayed behind had come up with their own strategies.
"We weren't prepared to walk out," said Jay Simpson, the CSRD's area director for the North Shuswap and the only locally-elected politician for the area, who has remained in Lee Creek.
"We stayed here, and are doing our level best to protect our homes."
Fights over evacuation zone rules
Simpson said communication has improved in recent days from higher levels of government.
However, many who stayed behind have had altercations with BCWS and police officers — some of which have circulated on social media, and some of which have involved garbage being thrown at firefighters — over being told to remain on their property, or blocking people with unapproved aid, as the government requires permits to re-enter areas under evacuation orders.
Some residents have taken firefighting equipment and used it for their own purposes, which the government has said is stealing, but some residents have characterized it as a last resort.
"They make everybody look like a bunch of bad people. They're not stealing that shit. They're using it," said Avery Shoaf, a Shuswap resident and host of the TV show Rust Valley Restorers.
"These people out there right now, they're putting their life on the line and they're proud of it. And the government and the powers to be, for some unknown reason, they don't like it because they're not in control of the situation."
The political culture of the Shuswap is fairly conservative — no NDP MLAs or MPs or Liberals have been elected in the area since 1991 — and Shoaf acknowledged that many people who stayed behind "aren't really good at following rules."
However, some who followed the rules and evacuated the area share the same sentiment.
"There's a lot of frustration from the increased police presence that are keeping people on their property and preventing them from putting out fires that can be put out," said Kendall Marken, who travelled from Scotch Creek to Kamloops before the fire exploded in size.
"We don't want to fight with B.C. Wildfire Service ... It seems crazy to spend resources and time and energy fighting amongst each other when there is a fire there we can fight together."
Premier cites high anxiety
On that front, there is agreement with the BCWS.
"It's hard to work together when it's a very us-versus-them mentality," said information officer Forrest Tower.
He said firefighters across the province are exhausted and have been on the job for much longer than normal seasons. But he also fiercely defended the decisions being made, saying they were in line with best practices for fighting wildfires in populated areas.
It was much the same message given by Premier David Eby earlier in the day in Kamloops, after a tour of an evacuation centre where he was challenged by some of the evacuees about the response.
"We know you have anxiety, we know you're trying to help," he said.
"That anxiety, combined with people moving fire equipment, stealing fire equipment, is not helping … my best advice to everybody is to listen to those emergency frontline responders."
It's standard advice from any politician in the middle of a wildfire emergency.
But there is plenty of evidence that in the Shuswap, the advice isn't being well taken.
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With files from Renee Filippone, Baneet Braich, Chad Pawson and Bethany Lindsay