Shuswap wildfire zone sees increased police presence amid concerns

Police say they are increasing their presence in an evacuation zone around the Shuswap, including at an area road block, after what the RCMP calls “a confrontation.”

The Chase RCMP says it received reports of a “large group of people mustering with food and supplies destined for an Evacuation Order area in the North Shuswap” Wednesday night.

“It appeared that the intentions of those involved were to overwhelm the police road block and gain access into the area,” Mounties claimed.

The BC Wildfire Service said in a now-deleted social media post, of which screenshots are being shared online, that it was “made aware of an organized effort to dismantle the RCMP checkpoint on Highway 1.”

“This is the latest of several decisions that have significantly impacted operational activities in the area,” the BC Wildfire Service said in the post.

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Related articles: 

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

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• ‘In my blood to fight’: Shuswap, B.C., residents tell why they defy fire evacuation

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As such, the service explained it had decided to reassign its resources to other areas of the Bush Creek East and Rossmore Lake fires, saying, “At this time, the environment is unsafe for BC Wildfire Service operations.”

“This decision was not made lightly. The safety of people is our primary concern,” it added.

The service declined to comment on this post, directing CityNews to its information page about the Bush Creek fire, which was updated Thursday morning.

In that update, the BC Wildfire Service says its crews are focusing on the Little Shuswap Lake area, the Loakin Valley, and the Turtle Valley through the morning.

“As we engage with our partners at the RCMP and CSRD we will determine operational activities throughout the rest of today, tomorrow, and going forward. The top priority of our response is to keep people safe,” the website reads.

“The Incident Management Team, and the BC Wildfire Service will continue dialogue with community members in the north Shuswap for more integrated work. We recognize that most individuals in the north Shuswap area are working towards to same goal as the BC Wildfire Service – containment of the Bush Creek Wildfire. We ask for the continued support of the north Shuswap community to keep the area safe for everyone.”

RCMP claims emergency personnel have received ‘threats of violence’

The RCMP says it increased police presence in the area in response to some people who continue to defy evacuation orders. Throughout the past several days, officials have said some individuals have moved firefighting equipment in these zones which has ultimately “undermined BC Wildfire Service fire suppression work.”

Investigators claim the safety of emergency personnel has also been compromised “through threats of violence.”

“The area under Order is not safe due to active wildfire as well as damage to powerlines and unstable trees and structures. The group later challenged the BC RCMP officers stationed at the road block into the area currently under Order,” the RCMP continues in a release.

“While we understand and sympathize with the residents of the North Shuswap, there is a process in place through the local Emergency Operations Centre that needs to be followed to ensure the safety of everyone,” said Corp. James Grandy, who speaks for the Southeast District RCMP.

“When the EOC deems it safe to do so, they can issue passes into the area to support a resupply. Fortunately, our officers are well trained, were able to de-escalate and the situation was quickly resolved safely without incident.”

The RCMP says no arrests were made in connection with the aforementioned incidents. Some locals have previously reported others being taken into custody, though it’s not exactly clear what those circumstances were.

Speaking Thursday, BC Wildfire Service fire information officer Forrest Tower appealed for calm, saying crews are just trying their best to keep everyone safe.

“I’ve been saying this in all of my interviews — the top priority of response at this point is safety. That is the safety of our people and everyone else in the area, all first responders, all community members, all people — safety’s the number one priority,” he said.

“I would really like to stress that everyone is trying their best, and I am going to extend that to the community in North Shuswap. I know that everyone there is trying their best to work towards the same goal as us. Again, we are all trying to get containment of this wildfire. I know there’s a lot of other stuff going on, but we need to focus on the wildfire. That is the threat that is present to all of us.”

B.C. urges people to follow evacuation orders are calls for change to policy grow

On Tuesday, B.C. Premier David Eby was confronted by a Shuswap-area resident while he was touring wildfire zones.

“People that are trying to help are getting arrested by the police,” one person was heard telling the premier during his stop in Kamloops.

“Our whole upper community was lost and there’s people still up there trying to help, and they’re getting arrested? There’s police boats at the shore stopping supplies, fuel for generators, people in Anglemont running out of food, they’re trying to help boat stuff over. Where’s the logic in that?”

Eby, and many other officials, including Emergency Preparedness Minister Bowinn Ma, have repeatedly stressed the importance of people following evacuation orders, saying they are in place for not just the safety of residents, but crews as well.

“One of the anxieties that we have is that people who are wanting to help, wanting to do the right thing are staying behind and then our firefighters are having to spend time — if it’s safe for them — to go in and try to get people out of those areas before the fire gets too dangerous and actually claims lives.

“A firefighter should not be trying to get people out of evacuated areas if people are able to move themselves, they should be focusing on fighting fires. That anxiety combined with people moving fire equipment, relocating fire equipment, stealing fire equipment, this is not assisting the fire effort,” Eby said Tuesday.

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But others who live or are from the area have said many of the people in these zones can offer valuable support. While they all agree that breaking the law is not the right way to go, some locals, as well as BC United MLA Peter Milobar, have called on the province to look at including many of these residents in its overall strategy, if they are able to help.

“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,” Jones Bentley, whose family has been in the Shuswap for generations, explained Wednesday.

He told 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.

“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.”

As of Thursday morning, the Bush Creek East fire was just over 41,000 hectares and still listed as out of control. It’s believed it was caused by lightning and was first reported on July 12.

-With files from Michael Williams and Liza Yuzda