FILE PHOTO

Image Credit: SUBMITTED/B.C. Wildfire Service

Conflicts have been flaring up in the North Shuswap between authorities managing the Bush Creek East wildfire and the local citizens defying evacuation orders, staying back to defend their properties.

Some authorities have claimed locals are stealing firefighting equipment and throwing garbage at firefighters, while some locals complain a heavy presence of RCMP officers are blocking supplies going in and out of the fire ravaged communities.

Most recently, on Aug. 23, roughly 20 protestors showed up at an RCMP roadblock near Sorrento in what police said was an effort to overwhelm the blockade prompting the Wildfire Service to temporarily pull firefighters out of the area for safety reasons.

A volunteer firefighter with a first responder organization has been working in and out of the evacuation order zone for the past week alongside locals and the fire department. His name or specific location will not be named for the safety of the crew members working with him as “it is still a fluid situation with members providing aid in the area.”

He agreed to tell iNFOnews.ca his perspective on the complex situation as a working fire fighter who can see both sides.

He said locals have the option of signing up as volunteers to work for fire departments and first responder organizations, alongside the authorities many are currently in conflict with, and if more locals had signed up and taken the basic training offered, more of the fire ravaged community he’s working in would have been saved.

The first few days he was on the job, locals were lined up to offer assistance to the firefighters and the chief was assigning locations of hot spots for them to go to, but lack of training and radios for communication was an obstacle.

“The story here is that when the time comes, people step up to save their community but if you’re the type of person to defy an evacuation order to save your town, you need to volunteer with your local fire department or first responders,” he said. “If even ten percent of the locals who offered to fight fires had joined the department and received training, the local department’s available manpower would have doubled in size.”

The firefighter said it is recognized without the community involvement, the town would have been lost but firefighters are frustrated because there was potential to have even more manpower working together if more had joined up and got training. 

“There is a serious problem when it comes to people getting involved in community service," he said. "The majority of people only step up when it’s their stuff that’s burning down, it’s easy to make the right decision when the flames are at your door, you get out and fight it. You don’t join the volunteer fire department so you can protect your house, you do it to protect your neighbours and they do it to protect yours.”

The firefighter said it’s easy for locals wanting to stay and fight the fires to sign up as a volunteer.

“I’ve fed hundreds of people, filled generators, escorted people and treated burns all with 16 hours-worth of training,” he said. “Write your name down on a sheet of paper, it’s so easy. The point of training is so that when shit hits the fan, everyone immediately knows what to do with very little direction.”

When asked about the RCMP allegedly blocking supplies going in and out of the North Shuswap, the firefighter said they have all they need and more.

“Most locals feel RCMP presence is justified but they don’t like being told to remain in their homes. No arrests have been made besides one belligerent guy. Everyone here has bellies so full you can’t even give food away. Gas is in short supply but the first propane truck just came in and more should be coming.

“It took a while to get resources in but only because there are so many bloody people still here. What was initially brought in was enough to sustain the fire fighters but as locals came to get food, the supplies dwindled so fast. By Tuesday, however, there has been more food than we could handle. Freezers began to thaw so all that meat was donated and it's been cooked. You can have six meals a day here absolutely free.”

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He said fuel is hard to come by because so many people stayed behind and are using generators.

“RCMP are blocking the people, not supplies. There are avenues to get supplies in, if the people who wanted to contribute, spent a few minutes searching, they would find the correct places to donate and supplies would get in. That said, more than enough supplies are getting in currently by boat and car.”

READ MORE: Vacuum of news on Facebook during a disaster being filled by conspiracy theorists

The firefighter said the thefts of equipment is real and he has even provided aid to locals using stolen gear to fight the fires.

When asked what he knows about the convoy of protestors that arrived earlier this week, he said the behavior of the protestors wasn’t popular.

“I’ve spoken to 30 different people today, none support the convoy," he said. "This escalation has put the rest of our relief efforts in jeopardy."

The Bush Creek East wildfire in the Shuswap was discovered on July 12 and is has since grown to roughly 41,000.

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