Mayor, Council and staff would like to extend our heartfelt sadness to the communities throughout the Okanagan Valley who are under evacuation alerts and orders due to fires. There are numerous communities that are affected by two separate large-scale wildfires that are burning to the north of us in the Shuswap Lake area of Scotch Creek and Celista and to the south of us in West Kelowna, Kelowna and Lake Country. Mayor Acton would like to remind anyone affected by these evacuations to make sure to register with Emergency Social Services for assistance. Please check with your local authorities as to where you are to register.
BC Wildfire Crews as well as numerous paid and volunteer firefighters, RCMP and Search and Rescue crews are working around the clock to fight back these fires, to hand out evacuation orders and to rescue people from areas under evacuation order.
The Village of Lumby will temporarily be allowing overnight camping in the parking lot across from Lumby Curling Rink and can open up further areas within the Village if required for registered evacuees.
Mayor Acton would like to remind residents to be vigilant in watching the area around your home and neighbourhood for any sign of fire and to clean up your property and remove flammable materials from directly around your home. All areas in and around Lumby have seen increased ash debris for the last week so Mayor Acton, Council and staff would like to encourage residents to be prepared in the event of an emergency by preparing a to go bag as well as your important documents.
Staff are encouraging you to familiarize yourself with information that can be found here on the Provincial government website:
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/safety/emergency-management/preparedbc/guides-and-resources
Here are some evacuation terms to become familiar with:
Depending on the severity of the situation, an Evacuation Alert or Order may be issued. It’s important to understand the difference and to always follow the advice and direction of your local authorities.
- Evacuation Alert: Be ready to leave on short notice.
- Evacuation Order: You are at risk. Leave the area immediately.
- Tactical evacuation: This happens when a sudden threat to life requires immediate action and there is no time to prepare or issue written warnings. These types of evacuations are often coordinated by the RCMP or local police, with assistance from other agencies.
- Evacuation Rescinded:The risk to life and safety has now passed.
To be ready, know your hazards and follow Prepared BC’s guides to prepare yourself, family, home or business in case an evacuation is ordered.
Please keep the residents of our surrounding communities in your thoughts and help in any way you can. Please do not travel to areas that are affected by the current wildfires and if you know people who are coming to this area for vacation, encourage them to change their travel plans as with the numerous evacuations happening in the Okanagan all hotels, motels and campgrounds really need to be utilized by valley residents who have had to evacuate and who may have lost everything.
The Village of Lumby does not currently have an Emergency Operations Centre activated, but should the situation change in the coming days, one will be activated.
