Remote B.C. community fights wildfire together

Tschanz explains that during the 2018 evacuation, the province ordered to have the ferry regulated / blocked, so he crossed the lake in a small fishing boat to reach his parents. There was no power or internet at the time.

“I’m not a firefighter. I’m not a farmer, I’m not a logger,” he said. “But I certainly know how to operate a camera.”

Once inside, Tschanz says police questioned him and his crew. He told them, “We have the right to be here. This is my home.”

What he saw surprised him. Tschanz says the residents were well organized, with a group called the Wolfpack fighting fires day and night.

“What I’ve witnessed is not just some hillbillies running around or some renegades that are disobeying the government,” he said. “I saw structured, organized, independent firefighters that wanted to just do the right thing.”

After the fires, Tschanz says residents decided to get ready for the future. Many still had no home insurance, and help would take time to arrive. They formed the Chinook Emergency Response Society, and now Rio Tinto-sponsored fire trailers are strategically placed throughout the Southside.

Neighbours can connect to a trailer as soon as a fire is reported. Tschanz says this quick response stopped 27 fires from becoming major incidents before B.C. Wildfire could arrive. He adds that Chinook has since gone to Clinton, near Cache Creek, to help set up similar groups.

Tschanz says he does not blame B.C. Wildfire, which he believes was overwhelmed in 2018. Now, he says, the agency runs cross-training and workshops with Southside residents, including at Grassy Plains School. B.C. Wildfire has also licensed the film twice to show its staff.

Tschanz believes the province should reconsider having a single policy for every community.

“I think what the province needs to do is find ways of integrating communities like the South Side that have resources in the solution, rather than alienating them or punishing them,” he said.

The fires also revealed a lost Cheslatta Carrier Nation village site. According to the film’s press materials, the Cheslatta were forced from their villages in the 1950s because of a hydroelectric project. Tschanz says researchers found thousands of spearheads, and the site may be over 5,000 years old.

Tschanz says the film has won awards in Europe, India, and Asia, including best environmental film in London, U.K. It will also be shown in Abu Dhabi. Plans are underway for more screenings in towns across B.C. and Alberta.

Tschanz hopes viewers will remember the importance of community.

“This community felt abandoned. They felt lost,” he said. “But because of their love for the land, their love for each other and their respect for their neighbours, they managed to prevail.”

He believes the community would respond similarly if faced with another fire.

The film runs for 84 minutes. You can watch the trailer at thefireinourhearts.com.

by Dave Branco

Remote B.C. community fights wildfire together

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