After almost a year of developing evacuation plans, Sun Peaks Mountain Resort Municipality (SPMRM) recently received an executive summary during a council meeting in May.
The evacuation plans were designed with Innomergence, a Kamloops-based emergency management consulting firm. Much of the information for evacuations will be shared when an emergency event happens, because the details are highly dependent on the type of hazard at play. The document presented at council notes that plans developed for Sun Peaks’ evacuations are “intentionally non-prescriptive.”
“It can’t get too prescriptive because we can’t predict the nature of what every hazard is going to do with exact certainty,” Scott said.
As evacuation routes are chosen depending on the hazard at hand, Scott said routes will not be provided prior to an emergency.
“[Evacuations] are not going to be the same each time,” said Sun Peaks Fire Rescue (SPFR) chief, Dean Schiavon. “Depending on what type of evacuation we’re doing, we might be just doing a small section of the community versus the whole community.”
To develop the plan, the company worked with SPMRM and Sun Peaks Resort, as well as provincial ministries to gather ideas, Elaine Scott from Innomergence explained.
Executive summary
The executive summary available to the public primarily outlines the roles and responsibilities of council during an evacuation. For example, the mayor would be tasked with supporting actions required for an evacuation and giving strategic guidance during the event. The mayor can also act as the spokesperson for Sun Peaks, and declare a local state of emergency.
The designated community spokesperson could also be a member of council, the chief administrative officer or a public information officer.
One of the most important considerations during an evacuation is ensuring information comes from official sources, according to Scott.
“Having an official source of information, it definitely provides a sense of security for community members because they know that the information source that they’re getting it from is the most accurate,” she explained.
The plan includes a checklist for enacting an evacuation order and for rescinding one. While there was not a checklist provided for the public in the plan, council could decide to distribute one.
Evacuation methods
Schiavon noted that SPFR would combine various methods during an evacuation, from going door to door, to using the Voyant Alert system. Voyant is a communication app that provides targeted information about distance from a hazards, directions to shelters, evacuation routes and other necessary information, like boil water advisories or wildfire evacuation alerts. It can also send voice messages to landlines for people without access to a cell phone.
The company then started “ground truthing” before winter 2022 – that is, exploring Sun Peaks in person to determine if the routes available on maps will work for various evacuation scenarios.
“By ground truthing, we actually go to the location,” Scott explained. “I’ll drive the route…to make sure that what we’re seeing on a map and what we think is going to make sense in terms of traffic flow or resource allocations actually makes sense on the ground.”
Sun Peaks – and all geographic regions – have unique challenges that can’t always be identified on the maps, which is why the company started “ground truthing” before winter 2022 – that is, exploring Sun Peaks in person to determine if the routes available on maps will work for various evacuation scenarios.”
“By ground truthing, we actually go to the location,” Scott explained. “I’ll drive the route…to make sure that what we’re seeing on a map and what we think is going to make sense in terms of traffic flow or resource allocations actually makes sense on the ground.
During this process, the company assessed the roads leading in and out of the village. The main route into the village is Sun Peaks road, which is a paved single-lane road. The other main route is McGillvray Lake, a forest service road that is impassable during winter. The remaining roads out of the village are all forest service roads.
Schiavon said that the emergency plan provisions include contact information for shuttle buses if people without access to vehicles need to leave on forest service roads.
Resident Alex Morrissey was evacuated during the Embleton fire and explained he would like to know what routes are available, but understands that providing information in advance isn’t always possible depending on the scenario.
“I would like to know what are the exit routes, and how do we get there… I can see why [the municipality] is somewhat protective of that information because people expect certain things to happen,” Morrissey said.
Morrissey noted that emergency teams “did a fantastic job” during the Embleton fire, but he is concerned that future wildfires could shut off evacuation routes.
“My concern is what happens if the fire comes from a multitude of directions… there’s a lot of forest around us,” Morrissey said.
Preparation
The main hazards that may impact Sun Peaks include forest or structural fires, avalanches, emergencies at the FortisBC propane plant, traffic accidents, power outages and flooding, according to Schiavon. The spring melt this year caused a washout on Sun Peaks road May 14, reducing traffic to single-lane, alternating for one day.
The water travelled over the road and started washing out the bank underneath the cement, creating structural concerns, Schiavon said.
While the problem was resolved within a day, he said it is important to prepare for emergency events ahead of time.
“Things like portable radios, spare batteries, flashlights, candles, matches, phone chargers,” Schiavon said. “If you do have to leave at a moment’s notice, you’ve got a grab and go kit and they’re always good to revisit.”
He recommends checking your kit seasonally, similarly to checking smoke detector batteries in your home, as well as having your vehicle gassed up in case you have to travel a long distance during an evacuation.
Other resources to help prepare for emergencies and evacuations include B.C.’s preparation website, which includes information for assessing hazards, building an emergency go-bag, making a personal plan and more. Destination BC’s website includes specific information for tourism driven areas, including modules for effective communication during emergencies.
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