As the summer moves into August, we find ourselves on the cusp of another wildfire season, while looking back at last year.
2017 was the worst wildfire season in B.C.’s history, with more than 1,300 fires, 1.2 million hectares burned, and thousands of residents displaced from their homes.
The wildfire season arrived in the East Kootenay in August with a vengeance, forcing evacuation orders at Moyie Lake and on the St. Mary’s Reserve, and evacuation alerts at other communities in the region.
On Sunday, July 29, at the Cranbrook Chamber of Commerce a special tribute was paid to the volunteers with the Cranbrook and Kimberley Search and Rescue operations, who were in a heightened state of awareness and a constant state of readiness to assist with evacuation procedures and assist firefighting operations.
Gundula Brigl, with Emergency Management BC out of its Nelson office, presented Peter Reid and Greg Bedwell, Presidents and Search Managers of Kimberley SAR and Cranbrook SAR respectively, with plaques commemorating the teams’ efforts from that fraught summer of 2017.
Other SAR members were in attendance, and representatives of the City of Cranbrook and Regional District were also on hand.
Brigl spoke of how quickly the fires started last year, how quickly they spread across the province.
“Here in the East Kootenay we saw things building, building … we were in a heightened state of awareness,” she said.
“Folks don’t understand how important that volunteerism is. You guys do it, no matter what needs to be done, and you do it in an organized way.
“As fire season went on, it got closer and closer to home. Not knowing what’s going to be coming, you folks were willing to do it over and over.
“And at some point, it’s over, and we know we’ve been part of something important.
“I hope you’re able to stop, pause and reflect on what it meant, to yourselves, to your team — and get ready to do it all over again, because that’s where we are now.”
Brigl then presented Bedwell and Reid with the plaques. Both presidents praised their volunteer members — the backbone of the organizations.
“We ask a lot, and they just keep giving,” Bedwell said. “A huge thank you to the volunteers.”
“It’s important to recognize what we do, because we have people willing to do that any time, any place,” Reid said. The Kimberley SAR President also mentioned the strong relationship between the Cranbrook and Kimberley SARS.
“I feel we’re such an integrated group, we can work extremely well together,” he said.
On hand was Ed Ehrler from Sparwood, the East Kootenay Director of the BC Search and Rescue Association.
“Who can provide service to the entire province? It’s us,” he said. “We’re all volunteers.”
Ehrler said that some of the SAR volunteers were helping out with the evacuations last summer even while their own homes were threatened.
“That’s the kind of dedication we see. I never cease to be impressed by it.”
Cranbrook Mayor Lee Pratt and Terry Balan, Protective Services Supervisor for the Regional District of East Kootenay, also offered words of gratitude for the volunteers of the Cranbrook and Kimberley SARs.
Emergency Management BC (EMBC), formerly know as the Provincial Emergency Program, is a division of the Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General of BC. EMBC works with local governments and other agencies year round to provide coordination and support before during and after emergencies.