ʔaq̓am chief denounces 'bogus' GoFundMe campaigns for St. Mary's River wildfire evacuees
'There are folks out there who are trying to take advantage of the situation': Nasuʔkin (Chief) Joe Pierre Jr.
The leader of a First Nations community near Cranbrook, B.C., is speaking out against what he says are "bogus" fundraising campaigns purporting to support members of his community, who have been evacuated due to a wildfire.
Nasuʔkin (Chief) Joe Pierre Jr. of the ʔaq̓am Community, which is a member of the Ktunaxa First Nation, expressed concerns Wednesday after his staff noticed two GoFundMe campaigns allegedly seeking donations for ʔaq̓am evacuees affected by the St. Mary's River fire.
"We've been made aware of some bogus GoFundMe pages that are using our community name," Pierre said during a press conference at his community's administration building in Cranbrook, about a 146-kilometre drive west of the border with Alberta.
Pierre said they do not currently have fundraising campaigns related to the wildfire, and that the community would not be using the GoFundMe platform for fundraising.
"Unfortunately there are folks out there who are trying to take advantage of the situation," he said.
"It just makes me sick thinking about what [these] folks are trying to do."
Since its discovery on Monday, the St. Mary's River wildfire north of Cranbrook has led to an evacuation order for 52 homes in the ʔaq̓am reserve, displacing about 95 members of the community, according to the B.C. Wildfire Service (BCWS) and the Regional District of East Kootenay.
An evacuation order means residents should leave immediately, whereas an evacuation alert means residents should prepare to evacuate their homes with little to no notice.
The wildfire also triggered evacuation alerts for 43 homes in Fort Steele, a small town near ʔaq̓am, about 15 kilometres northeast of Cranbrook.
The evacuation orders and alerts remained as of Wednesday evening.
Homes lost, power and water supply affected
Pierre said the wildfire has destroyed seven homes in the ʔaq̓am reserve, many of which belonged to multi-generational families.
"We have parents with grandparents and children," he said. "A lot of people have been affected."
The wildfire also caused a power outage affecting 382 people living in the area between ʔaq̓am and Fort Steele since Monday afternoon.
The power supply was restored on Wednesday, around noon MT.
The fire also caused the failure of the water treatment facility at Fort Steele, which is currently under evacuation alert.
This prompted the Interior Health authority to issue a boil water notice, warning of water quality deterioration that could impact up to 5,000 residents.
As of 3 p.m. PT on Wednesday, the boil water notice was still in effect.
Despite the challenges, Pierre said he's not aware of any wildfire-related injuries in his community.
He added that authorities have been working to relocate pets and farm animals from the reserve.
23 wildfires of note currently burning
As of Wednesday afternoon, the BCWS estimates the St. Mary's River fire to be about eight square kilometres — a significant increase from the three square kilometres it covered on Monday.
The BCWS classifies it as a "wildfire of note," meaning it is highly visible or poses a potential threat to public safety.
According to the latest data from the BCWS, there are currently 23 wildfires of note burning across the province, most of them located in central and northern regions.
The BCWS said Wednesday that they have deployed eight to 10 heavy equipment to control the wildfire, with plans to bring more in the coming days.
With files from Corey Bullock