A North Shuswap man who stayed in Celista despite evacuation orders to help fight the Bush Creek East wildfire says residents are “shaking their heads” at a protest convoy which tried to challenge an RCMP blockade on the Trans-Canada Highway on Wednesday.
BC Wildfire Service crews are fighting the 41,041-hectare wildfire, which has impacted Adams Lake, areas near Shuswap Lake and Shuswap Lake, and south of Highway 1, between Chase and Sorrento. Thousands of properties have been placed on evacuation order.
Tensions have arisen as BC Wildfire Service and other local and provincial government representatives have urged locals obey the evacuation order, citing safety hazards for the public and firefighters and disruptions to BCWS operations.
Meanwhile, locals say those who disobeyed orders have helped to save structures, and are frustrated their grassroots efforts are being blocked by police.
On Wednesday, a group of protesters tried to bypass an RCMP blockade on the Trans-Canada Highway near Sorrento. Live social media videos of the incident shows about 20 protesters confronting a blockade of police cars near the lakeside community of Sorrento.
"This is a warning to all you Canadians out there, this is what's coming," says one man after confronting police in a video of the Sorrento incident, referring to the police blockade at the intersection of Blind Bay Road.
They tell officers they do not believe politicians have the right to prevent them using the road, and that it is illegal for the RCMP to block it.
Mike McCrae, a Celista man who has decades of search and rescue experience, stayed behind to help fight fires. He said some on the ground don’t agree with the actions of the convoy.
“Just speaking personally, and anyone I've talked to, everyone's just shaking their heads, you know, it's the wrong approach,” McCrae said.
However, McCrae said people are frustrated as some legitimate food deliveries sent to support locals fighting wildfires earlier this week have been blocked from entering the evacuation order areas.
Wednesday’s convoy, which organized itself on Facebook, had hoped to rally enough support to push through the closure to enter the evacuation zone, saying they planned to support property owners still fighting fires inside.
The group dispersed after about an hour without any reports of violence.
In a news release, RCMP Cpl. James Grandy confirmed Chase RCMP had received reports of a large group of people destined for an evacuation order area. He said it appeared the group’s intentions were to overwhelm the roadblock and gain access to the area.
He said protesters challenged RCMP officers stationed at the roadblock, but officers were able to deescalate the situation and no arrests were made.
Grandy noted a police presence in the North Shuswap has been in place in response to efforts by some people who have undermined BCWS’ fire suppression work by moving equipment, adding some people “have compromised emergency personnel safety through threats of violence.”
“The area under order is not safe due to active wildfire as well as damage to power lines and unstable trees and structures,” Grandy said.
He noted when the local Emergency Operations Centre deems entry is safe, they can issue passes to support people coming into the area.
“While we understand and sympathize with the residents of the North Shuswap, there is a process in place through the local Emergency Operations Centre that needs to be followed to ensure the safety of everyone,” Grandy said.
Castanet News has reached out to BC Wildfire Service to ask about Wednesday evening's convoy.
Wildfire service information officer Forrest Tower said earlier on Wednesday that people have the right to choose to stay on private property, but asked those still in evacuation zones to communicate with the service.
He says there are ways locals can potentially "work together," including hiring residents as emergency firefighters if they have a "base level" of training and safety certifications.
Tower says the Bush Creek East fire in the Shuswap region remains the province's top priority wildfire, and up to 150 more firefighters were scheduled to arrive on-site Wednesday and today to further contain the blaze.
