One of the biggest things the public can offer is their time, according to emergency social services volunteers providing aid to wildfire evacuees in Penticton.
In an effort to bring in more volunteers, the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen is offering a free training course Tuesday evening for those who want to offer their time to help with registering evacuees arriving in Penticton.
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The City of Penticton can play host to upwards of 400 evacuees, after opening up areas of the South Okanagan Events Centre campus to shelter those who have been displaced by any of the 159 wildfires currently burning across the province.
鈥淢ost of them are concerned about their houses. They鈥檙e trying to get communication as to when they鈥檒l be going back, how the fire鈥檚 doing,鈥� said Penticton鈥檚 emergency social services director Bonny Billups. 鈥淎nd making sure their family is safe and trying to find family members, which is part of our job, is reunification along with the Red Cross.鈥�
Operated through the RDOS, the emergency operations centre in Penticton is largely in the community centre鈥檚 gymnasium, with 400 cots set up in the concourse of the SOEC arena.
鈥淚n response to the fires up north, we were asked through the Province of B.C. for availability of space to receive evacuees,鈥� said EOC director Mark Woods with the RDOS, who added that that call came due to an evacuation of Williams Lake on Saturday.
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Billups said she has been working on and off in the community centre since it opened up on Saturday night, noting that the first night was a quiet one.
鈥淥nce the news got out that we were open, we鈥檙e getting people coming up from Williams Lake, now, to register in Penticton because we still have hotel rooms and we have group lodging here and shorter lineups,鈥� she said.
In the space of just a couple of hours, the number of people who registered with the Penticton EOC jumped from over 30 to over 100, according to Billups.
鈥淭oday was our first really busy day,鈥� Billups said.
With about 15 volunteers regularly contributing to local ESS efforts Billpus said there have been around 30 people contributing since the EOC opened up on Saturday, but she鈥檚 looking to add another 50 trained members.
鈥淲e could always use more volunteers that are trained with registration and referrals,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he centre is going to be open for probably as long as the fire鈥檚 going. As long as we鈥檙e needed, we鈥檒l be here.鈥�
Currently, Billups said the EOC in Penticton has been operating fairly smoothly, for the most part.
鈥淲e get a little backlogged, sometimes, but the people are very patient, and they鈥檙e very happy to get a room and get a roof over their head and some groceries and some clothing,鈥� she said.
鈥淚f they have insurance, of course, they should contact their insurance agents, because the insurance agents often have relocation fees if they are evacuated out of their homes. It covers things like cleaning your house afterwards. Some insurance agencies will cover these.鈥�
Beyond the 400 beds set up in the SOEC, Woods said the number of beds available for evacuees is fluid, with much of it depending on availability from local community members and vacant hotel rooms 鈥� as of noon Monday, there were around 100 beds available past the 400 in the SOEC.
鈥淏ased on what we鈥檙e seeing throughout the province, really it鈥檚 anybody鈥檚 guess what the needs will be for receiving individuals, so we鈥檙e just trying to get prepared,鈥� Woods said. 鈥淲e鈥檝e worked with our municipal partners throughout the region to find out what space is available within communities.
鈥淪o, should people come down from the north, or in the event we鈥檝e got something to deal with here, ourselves, we鈥檙e ready for that.鈥�
For those who might be heading to Penticton from the fires, Woods said the most important thing is to get to the EOC in the community centre at 325 Power Street to register with the regional district.
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鈥淭hey are now in a place that they can register and be comfortable. This is a safe place for people to relax, tell us what they need. And there鈥檚 trained people and wonderful volunteers to help with that,鈥� Woods said.
On top of volunteers, Billups said there are some material needs that the EOC would be grateful to receive from the community.
鈥淒iapers, kleenex, toilet paper, things like that we could probably use,鈥� she said, adding that most people are getting incidentals elsewhere.
鈥淲e have some wonderful suppliers than have given us lots of support this week. 鈥� We could use some brand new teddy bears for kids that come in.鈥�
Those who are interested in signing up for the training course Tuesday evening to volunteer with the EOC can do so at the emergency centre in the Penticton Community Centre gymnasium.
The course will run from 7 to 9 p.m. at the community centre.
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