B.C. warns against defying wildfire evacuation orders as calls grow for strategy changes

B.C. officials are doubling down on warnings, telling people affected by wildfires to stop ignoring evacuation orders, saying that can put both people and firefighting plans at risk.

Emergency Management Minister Bowinn Ma didn’t mince words Wednesday in her reminder, saying orders are not suggestions — they are the law.

“When unauthorized people are in evacuation areas, it escalates the danger involved for everyone. It also limits the kind of wildfire fighting tactics that the BC Wildfire Service can deploy and it redirects critical resources away from the wildfire fight,” she explained.

Her comments come after multiple residents in some wildfire evacuation zones, including the Shuswap, refused to leave their properties. Her messaging also came a day after the BC United MLA for Kamloops-North Thompson took aim at the government for not involving locals in such rural areas in their wildfire plans, and also as reports came in that some residents were having trouble getting supplies in these areas.

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“I know that some people want to stay and fight, but it is also my duty to be clear about the risk to people and emergency crews,” Ma said. “This has become an increasingly divisive issue within the community and outside. Let me be clear: Our collective fight is with the wildfire.”

Jones Bentley and his family have been in the Shuswap area for several generations.

He tells CityNews he agrees that people should not be blindly defying orders, adding they are “there for a reason and if you’re not able to contribute in a good way or if you pose a risk … I understand it.”

However, he feels when fit to do so, property owners should have the right to stay put and help protect what’s theirs.

“Black and white does not work in this, and sometimes it has to go even more into the grey and work with the people that have equipment or knowledge or experience with the area they’re living in,” he explained.

Bentley says he went to the Shuswap last week before orders were put in place after he saw conditions around the Adams Lake wildfire worsen.

“I needed to make sure my grandmother, who has fairly advanced dementia, was able to get out safely. We removed her on Thursday, ahead of alerts, knowing the high amount of risk that was happening. When I was there, I started to help my family,” he explained.

That help included removing fuels from around family homes, as well as making sure sprinklers were ready to go if needed.

It was Friday when he says things “got very terrible.”

“I stayed and helped out then and we ended up having fire coming down, spotfires everywhere, and spent a large portion of the afternoon trying to contain what we could. Of course, as everyone knows, later into Friday, it got worse,” Bentley said, noting he and others were then forced to pull back to the lake to get to a safer place.

Bentley echoes some of the comments made by MLA Peter Milobar earlier this week, in that many of the people who live in these more rural communities often have the same skillsets that firefighters do — though they may not have the certifications.

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He would like for the province to rethink how these situations are dealt with.

“As fires get more and more prevalent each year, it’s becoming more and more of a challenge for the BC Wildfire Service to do it on their own,” he explained.

“For me, just the challenge on flexibility with policy is the biggest thing.”

On Wednesday, Ma stressed once again the importance of following evacuation orders, saying that while she understands many just want to help, “areas under evacuation order are not safe places, and when you are asked to leave, you must leave immediately.”

But Bentley says many locals in places like the Shuswap can provide valuable insight.

“BC Wildfire — they can’t have eyes everywhere. Again, they do a great job, but the province is on a state of emergency. They can’t see everything. The local fire departments have a much better view on the ground, as it goes, and they do excellent as well. But also, local residents, I can 100 per cent say, when they’re there and they’re safe, there’s a positive contribution that they can make to fighting the fire,” he said.

The Bush Creek East fire, which makes up part of the Adams Lake Complex, was an estimated 41,000 hectares as of Wednesday afternoon.