B.C. premier encourages community co-operation after wildfire tension in Shuswap

David Eby says dealing with destructive wildfires is going to take everyone working together. The firefighting effort in B.C.’s Shuswap region has led to tension between residents — some of whom have defied wildfire evacuation orders — and provincial officials. In recent days, residents have voiced concerns that not enough is being done to protect their homes. But the B.C. Wildfire Service says defying evacuation orders impedes firefighting efforts and puts firefighters and residents at risk. People who live in the region say they feel abandonment and even hostility as RCMP patrol the area and provincial officials and the wildfire service speak out about the repurposing or outright theft of wildfire equipment. Premier David Eby visited a Kamloops-area evacuation centre on Tuesday to meet the B.C. residents who were forced to flee their homes due to the destructive fires. He spoke to Shelley Joyce, host of CBC’s Daybreak Kamloops, on Wednesday to discuss how Shuswap residents can co-ordinate with the B.C. Wildfire Service amid the growing frustration.
Source:ctvnews.ca