the broken typewriter

The end is in sight for residents of the Northern Rockies Regional Municipality and Fort Nelson First Nation who evacuated their communities nearly two weeks ago ahead of the Parker Lake wildfire.

A combination of recent rains, cooler weather and valiant efforts on the part of the BC Wildfire Service and various fire departments who lent a hand to fight the fire, has led to this week’s cautious start to a phased return to the Fort Nelson area.

“We’re trying to be cautious; we want to give you guys out there some optimism that this is going to be over soon,” Northern Rockies Regional Municipality’s mayor Rob Fraser told residents in his daily video broadcast Wednesday.

For the past 10 days, Fraser strove to keep residents informed about the progress of the fires threatening the town of Fort Nelson, and the situation in the municipality overall. He said at the residents meeting held at the North Peace Arena in Fort St. John on May 15, less than a week into the evacuation, that municipal staff understood how hard it was to be 400 km away from home, adding, “We’re going to try to do everything we can to at least keep you informed.”

Between Fraser and others in the community who remained behind during the evacuation order, such as Fort Nelson’s Bounce Radio station manager, Ken Johnson, their daily posts on Facebook kept residents informed and reassured throughout the ordeal. An ordeal that Fraser is optimistic is nearly at its end.

Although the BC Wildfire Service has not yet given the all-clear for residents to return to the community, and the Alaska Highway north of Fort Nelson remains closed, preparations have been moving forward for the imminent return of residents.

NRRM has transitioned to a community safety and sustainability focus as it re-establishes services, and staff are working hard to get everyone back into the community before needing to renew ESS supports next week.

With that in mind, Phase 2, critical businesses, such as grocery stores and the hospital gearing up to be fully functional by early next week. Currently, limited staff are working at IGA and Save-On Foods to get shelves restocked and will be open, starting May 23, from 2 to 8 p.m., for those working to restore services in NRRM.

“The hospital has been starting their plan, and some doctors have come back,” said Fraser. “Pharmacies are looking to come up (May 23) to see what they need to do to get going.”

Fraser added that the water and sewer systems are functioning, power is back on, and Fortis is checking the system for leaks.

“I’m starting to feel really comfortable that we can say folks will be home before they have to renew their services,” he said.

Phase 3, life support businesses will be brought back to support the Phase 2 businesses staff, once those are in place. The NRRM Emergency Operations Centre will notify Phase 3 businesses when it’s their turn to return to the community.

“Phase 3 businesses will be given their notices as early as this weekend,” Fraser said. These business owners should start making plans to get their businesses up and running when they are notified, in preparation for Phase 4, full return to the community, he added.

“If it keeps going the way it’s been going, we’re going to be making a call here on the weekend.”

The EOC is contacting businesses to recall them to the community, and to approve access permits for staff who are being recalled by their employers. Permit applications will be issued on a case-by-case basis, screened by the EOC, BC Wildfire and other relevant agencies and reviewed daily. The application for an Evacuation Area Access Permit can take up to 48-hours.

A NRRM Resident Re-Entry Brochure has been created to provide a quick reference of things to consider when preparing to return home, once BC Wildfire has given the all-clear.

Residents requiring transportation assistance are asked to notify the EOC by May 23 in order to allow the logistics team to coordinate the pick-up times and locations. Contact communications@northernrockies.ca or phone 250-775-0993, with your name, phone number, location, number of family members or pets you have with you, and if you have accessibility needs.

In addition, NRRM is holding another residents’ meeting tomorrow, May 24 at 2 p.m. at the Taylor Community Hall for a Re-entry and Recovery Community Update, and Q&A session. As with the May 15 meeting, this one will be live-streamed for those unable to attend in person. Questions can be sent to communications@northernrockies.ca to be answered live.

Both NRRM and EOC staff have done a lot of work to get ready for Fort Nelson residents’ return, Fraser said.

“We’ll really be pushing for that Monday-Tuesday deadline, and I hope that it comes sooner,” Fraser said.