“It’s a war zone”: North Shuswap locals look for help, supplies as they stay behind to battle fires

KAMLOOPS — On Friday (August 18) afternoon, the Lower East Adams Lake and Bush Creek wildfires changed directions as a result of strong northerly winds. Those fires moved fast through the North Shuswap communities of Celista, Scotch Creek, and even as far west as Squilax. The fire crossed the Trans-Canada Highway, moved up into Turtle Valley south of Chase, and has since spread east along the highway toward Sorrento.

“In terms of moving 20 kilometres in under 12 hours, that is almost unheard of, in terms of fire growth in B.C.,” BCWS Fire Information Officer Forrest Tower explains. “It really was a significant fire behaviour event that occurred, and unfortunately resulted in a lot of impacts in through the North Shuswap Lake area.”

Wind gusts of 50-70 km/h pushed the fire further and faster than the BC Wildfire Service expected, which caused the BCWS to pull its personnel off the front lines for the sake of safety. It also caused widespread destruction of properties.

“It’s a war zone, totally,” CSRD Area F Director Jay Simpson describes the scene in the North Shuswap on Monday. “Destruction throughout the three western communities of Lee Creek, Scotch Creek and Celista. Local populations trying to save their communities. Just a war zone.”

Image Credit: Jim Cooperman/Facebook

When the evacuation order came, many locals decided to stay and fight the fire themselves.

“We’ve got lots of locals with tanks and a truck and pumps and hoses and will just get on there and blitz it, put it out,” Ken Smythe, one local who stayed behind explains. “These little fires – across the road from me – they’re right beside houses, so if we can put those out first then we’re saving the house.”

After three days of little rest, a major issue facing the locals who stayed behind, is a lack of supplies. Access is limited on Squilax-Anglemont Road, and locals are also suggesting access by boat has been limited by authorities.

“I figure there are about 300 people who stayed behind, defying the orders,” Simpson explains. “Most of them are guys and they’re out fighting fires. I can’t get sandwiches, I can’t get bottled water. I can’t get bread to make sandwiches with. Supporting these guys is almost impossible.”

“We need to have food coming over. And gas,” Smythe says. “We have a gas station here that’s working, but it’s getting pretty low on fuel, we need a big tanker truck to be let through to get fuel.”

Word has spread of the need for help in the North Shuswap thanks to social media. However, locals say that the evacuation order and road closures into the communities are making things more difficult.

“We have people from down on the coast, from Calgary, from Fort McMurray that want to come down and bring us equipment,” Simpson says. “I have to tell them don’t bother because you can’t get it in. There are people stuck in the blockade at Chase that have water tanks, 5,000-gallon tanks. They won’t let them in.”

BC Wildfire Service has gone on record and said the theft of critical firefighting equipment had been hampering their efforts in the area. According to locals, they simply requisitioned the equipment to put it to better use. However, the Wildfire Service suggests it’s important for locals and professionals to work together to ensure the safety of everyone fighting the fire.

“When people aren’t communicating and working collaboratively with the “official” response effort, things can be happening where one party doesn’t know what the other party is doing,” Tower suggests. “When we’re talking about trees being cut down, fire being involved, it’s very important that everyone, at least at a basic level, knows where each other is, and that’s the concern. It just all goes back to safety.”

More BC Wildfire personnel have been deployed on the fire lines today and are focused on improving fire guards and limiting the spread of the fire.

“We got three more unit crews today. Those are around 20 people,” Tower says. “We’re sending those into Lee Creek, Scotch Creek, and Celista in terms of working in areas wildland firefighters can work. Our efforts are really focused to limit the spread, so we can limit where [the fire] currently is and really limit any future growth and risk to other communities.”