BC wildfires: resident fears, evacuations and learning from indigenous communities – Alaska Highway News
August 9, 2023
2023 has been labelled Canada’s most destructive wildfire season ever, and summer isn’t over yet.
With millions of hectares burned, 2023 has been labelled Canada’s most destructive wildfire season ever, and summer isn’t over yet.
With the hope that rain and cooler weather could bring relief to B.C. wildfire crews, we are still coming off a weekend where a B.C. festival was evacuated due to wildfire, and several properties are still on alert.
Imagine having to drop everything, grab your kids and leave your home. Well, this (having to leave their community during a wildfire) is a fear that 76 per cent of B.C. residents have according to a spring survey released by First Onsite – leading the country considerably.
The survey of Canadians found that regional concerns for all indices were highest in British Columbia – which has endured several years of intense wildfire activity – including the devastating 2021 fire that eviscerated the town of Lytton. Eighty-two per cent of B.C. residents are worried about personal or family safety and 60 per cent are concerned about their insurance coverage (i.e. is it sufficient?)
