Prince George Emergency Support Service welcoming wildfire evacuees

Prince George’s Emergency Reception Centre has reopened and is accepting evacuees.

That is according to Tanya Spooner, the City’s Emergency Preparedness Manager, in the wake of numerous wildfire evacuation alerts and orders being issued in the region.

This includes Williams Lake, Wells, Barkerville, Bowron, Fort St. James, Dunster, and Beaver River.

Spooner said as of this afternoon (Monday), only around a dozen people had come to Prince George from the Wells area, most of the others opted to go to Quesnel instead.

“We are not expecting a whole bunch more, but there are several evacuation alerts that could turn to orders so we are actively preparing for potential large evacuations around the north,” she told My PG Now.

“We are talking really closely with those other communities and Regional Districts to make sure we are aware of their circumstances, decision making process, and how many people they are looking to potentially evacuate,” Spooner explained.

While the number fluctuates depending on hotel availability, she said Prince George is ready to welcome around 3,000 evacuees if necessary.

Prince George housed around 10,000 evacuees in 2017, Spooner said that was made possible by the community stepping up to help the city by temporarily opening their doors to those who had been evacuated.

Provincially, evacuees can now independently access supports online, which Spooner recommends signing up for.

Being registered online and through the BC Services app streamlines the process, if that has been done before arriving at a reception centre Spooner says they can “get them into the system, get them the services they need or funds so they can make their own decision.”

“We also have staff that are trained and can provide that empathetic ear who may be dealing with the trauma of evacuation in a different way,” she added.

As the wildfire season ramps up, everyone is being asked to have  a tentative evacuation plan in place.

Spooner finished the interview by reminding people in the region that “Anything you can do to prepare personally lightens the pressure on the evacuation system.”