Wildfire and Emergency Preparedness in BC
As this year’s wildfire season has started earlier than usual, employers need to be prepared in advance, in the event they and their employees have to respond quickly to a wildfire situation.
Below are practical tips to help get you started:
1. Prepare in Advance: PreparedBC’s
Emergency Planning Resources for Tourism Operators and Small Businesses provide specific resources available for your use in preparing for emergencies
2. Be Ready to Respond: If you are on evacuation alert or think you will be put on evacuation alert, there are some important steps you will want to consider. Review your evacuation plan and start the implementation process.
3. Encourage Employees to be Personally Prepared: Ensure staff are personally prepared and have a household emergency plan to keep their own families safe. Employees will be more resilient knowing how to protect themselves at home and at work.
Resources:
- PreparedBC’s 3 steps for preparedness here
- EmergencyInfoBC here
- BC Wildfire Preparedness Guide here
- The BC Wildfire Service and interactive map here
Wildfire Prevention & Safety
Please encourage visitors to the Boundary Country to follow these practices:
- Know Before You Go: When visiting or planning an upcoming trip, check the latest updates.
- Official sources for updates include Drive BC for information on road closures, the BC Wildfire Service for an interactive map, and Emergency Info BC for alerts.
- Explore nature responsibly and exercise extreme caution with fire usage, including disposing of cigarette butts responsibly.
- Monitor wildfire conditions by visiting the BC Wildfire Dashboard at BCWildFire.ca.
- Monitor smoke conditions in the region by visiting the regional Air Quality Health Index page provided by the Government of Canada.
- If you see a wildfire, you are asked to report it by dialling *5555 on your mobile device or calling 1-800-663-5555.
