Steve Jansen speaks with an Insurance Bureau of Canada employee at the TNRD resiliency centre on July 13. Jansen and his family are one of the many Cache Creek evacuees staying in Kamloops.

(ASHLEY LEGASSIC / iNFOnews.ca)

KAMLOOPS - Steve Jansen and his family are just some of the thousands of British Columbians displaced by the devastating wildfires burning across the province.

He was evacuated from his Cache Creek home last Friday, July 7, just four hours after his daughter and grandson fled their 108 Mile Ranch home and arrived in Cache Creek.

"We're displaced," Jansen said. "We're living in our trailer."

Jansen, his wife, their dog, and their daughter and grandson made the trip to the McArthur Island evacuation centre after leaving Cache Creek, but Jansen finds some relief in knowing his home is still standing.

His home is equipped with a security camera system he can access from his phone, so although he may not know what the damage is like, he knows it's still there.

Jansen was the first evacuee to arrive at the Thompson-Nicola Regional District's resiliency centre which opened its doors at noon today, July 13. Insurance companies set up booths there to give evacuees advice on what they can do while they wait to return home.

"It's better to get a jump start," Jansen said. "This is very good, you come here, you can get a claim started... They can give us advice on what to do when we do get home."

An average day for Jansen and his family now involves watching the news, keeping up to date with the wildfires and socializing with other evacuees.

He says if it weren't for his daughter and grandson, he and his wife likely would have stayed behind in Cache Creek.

Jansen wishes he remembered to grab one thing from his home: A generator. He says things moved so quickly when they were ordered out of their home that he mostly grabbed the "important stuff."

Although he thinks the evacuation order may have been a bit premature, he has high praise for officials and firefighters who are working through this situation.

"They're doing a hell of a job," Jansen said.

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