Revelstoke Mayor, Gary Sulz and Steven DeRousie, Emergency Operations Centre Deputy Director for the City of Revelstoke and Area sat down on Saturday, July 27 to discuss Revelstoke's Emergency Operations Centre.
Sulz explained that the city has a contract with the CRSD to manage Revelstoke's emergency response program.
"We're monitoring the fires that are in our area...there have been some evacuation alerts that have gone out," said Sulz.
DeRousie explained that evacuation alerts come first as a recommendation from BC Wildfire Service. Following the recommendation, the EOC has a conversation with the Provincial Regional Emergency Operations Centre (PREOC) for the area, Mayor Sulz and the CRSD chair before issuing the alert.
Sulz further explained that other areas such as Golden which experienced evacuation orders, had residents leaving their communities and seeking refuge in places like Revelstoke, where the city has established a reception centre which is coordinated through Emergency Support Services (ESS).
"When people are evacuated under an order, they need to also register with the province... so the province is able to follow those people, where they're headed," said DeRousie. ESS receives the evacuees, helps register them and checks in with the EOC.
Registration during emergency situations is important to make sure services such as ESS and the EOC can account for people.
"It's really important from an emergency perspective to know where everybody is...to make sure that they're safe and if there's family or friends that are looking for them, we know where they are and that they're safe," said Sulz.
Sulz also spoke to the community's desire to help evacuees and open up the city.
" We want to make sure those who are coming to us from another community are going to be safe, so we have our washrooms open, and we are planning areas for people to go in their RVs," said Sulz. Following registration with ESS, they will be directed to places they can go such as hotels.
For evacuees in campers, the sani-dump is available and Sulz said that since city staff wanted to make sure that everyone would be able to use it, it's currently free of charge.
According to a press release from the city, issued on July 28, there remains an evacuation alert for the Trouth Lake area. It was put in place on July 23 on behalf of the CRSD. An evacuation alert is “for the north end of Armstrong Lake to Trout Lake, and Trout Lake up Lardeau Creek to Cup Creek. This includes Ferguson and Five Mile and CMH Galena."
The evacuation alert for Cranberry Creek to Shelter Bay is also in effect.