By Cheryl Jahn

Wildfire One Year Later

Jul 6, 2018 | 2:45 PM

PRINCE GEORGE – It was a year ago that Mother Nature decided to light the province on fire. A massive electrical storm sparked a series of wildfires, primarily in the Cariboo. And it was the day after that Prince George was called into action to be a receiving community for evacuees, at first, from 100 Mile House.

“Of course, Murphy’s Law, we had a major convention going on so we had no hotel space available, as it turned out,” says Brad Beckett, the Director of Emergency Social Services So we had to move to group lodging. We’d never done that before in Prince George. We’d practiced a few times but we’d never actually experienced it. So that was a first for us.”

He says the experience was a “huge learning curve” for City staff, despite being trained for emergencies. However, no one was prepared for the extent or length of the emergency.

Amanda Reynolds was seconded from the local BC Wildfire Service office to work in Williams Lake.

“It was made very clear that the Cariboo Fire Centre needed a lot more help. So for the remainder of the summer, I spent it down there, working in Williams Lake while the city was evacuated, living in my car at the airport. The city was just filled with people like myself. Firefighters, First Responders, RCMP and the military and the volunteer fire departments. So it was a bit of a ghost town,” she recalls. “One of my memories is that I remember the smoke. the whole summer, that’s what I smelled and tasted.”

Job Fair

Prince George Native Friendship Centre hosts semi-annual Job Fair

14h ago

Social Media Ban

Should social media be banned until you're 16? PG weighs in

15h ago

University of Northern BC

International student policy has challenges

16h ago

She says it, too, was a learning experience, one she feels makes her better at what she does.

Over the past year, the City has made changes so as to be better prepared. For instance, Council approved a new position at City Hall. The new Manager of Emergency Programs will be on the job soon. Training has been beefed up for City staff and lessons learned will be incorporated into the plans for the new Emergency Operations Centre to be located in the new Fire Hall.

by Cheryl Jahn

Click here to report an error or typo in this article

Wildfire One Year Later

What's Trending