Lyonel Doherty

Times-Chronicle

Dick Dough and his wife were worried about their home when a wildfire ripped through their quaint, Oliver neighbourhood on April 28.

It was a real shock when the RCMP showed up at their door to evacuate the area.

“We’re just really worried because we don’t even have insurance for any of our stuff . . . I didn’t even bring a toothbrush,” said Dick, who was a little fidgety outside the reception centre.

They could have picked a better name for RCMP Sgt. Don Wrigglesworth who portrayed Dick in the mock emergency scenario at the Oliver Community Centre. (We didn’t ask if Dick’s wife’s name was Jane.)

Anyway, the training scenario for Emergency Support Services (ESS) volunteers was a success, according to site coordinator Diane Vaykovich from the Town of Oliver.

“All volunteers received hands on training in a more controlled setting of an actual event,” she said, noting there were 12 ESS volunteers, six ALERT (Animal Lifeline Emergency Response Team) volunteers, and 13 evacuees.

An Interior Health control person was also on site to ensure COVID protocols were followed.

Vaykovich said the team pretended that the power was lost, which required a requisition of a generator to power the computers.

Chief Administrative Officer Cathy Cowan brought her dog to the reception centre to give ALERT an animal to work with.

All the pieces seemed to fall into place.

Even Dick was breathing easier after a while.

“You know, I came here and they really did set me at ease a little bit. They are going to help me out for the next couple of nights.”

Dick explained that volunteers were going to help him out with groceries and a place to stay. But he admitted that they will likely stay with friends starting tomorrow.

“We don’t want to be a burden on the system.”

Dick said he really has a lot of faith in local fire crews, but he acknowledged that fires can be so unpredictable.

The homeowner said he realizes that personal belongings can be replaced but he is still quite stressed out thinking if he’ll have a home to return to.

Taking off his Dick hat, Wrigglesworth put his RCMP hat back on and talked about their role during an emergency.

He noted that police assist in many ways, such as security patrols of evacuated areas. They work hand-in-hand with search and rescue officials during evacuation orders.

“We also assist in ensuring that people aren’t coming and going because human life is the most important thing.”

Wrigglesworth recalled the big fires at Vaseux Lake and Kelowna in 2003.

“I was on evacuation alert packing up my car with my dog and my canoe on the roof and coming to work here in Oliver dealing with people that were in a situation that I role-played today.”

At the same time, his wife, an RCMP officer in Penticton, had to stop people from going back into the fire area.

“Getting sworn at, getting yelled at, and at the same time we don’t know whether our house is going to be there when we go home at the end of the day. There is a lot of emotions involved.”

But Wrigglesworth said people really have to be prepared for these crises by packing an emergency kit beforehand and having it ready to go at the drop of a hat.

ESS director Bill Morrison gave the Times-Chronicle a tour of the reception centre where evacuees enter to register for assistance.

“Who knows, they may have left their home and the cat is still there, or whatever, it could be anything.”

Basically, the three-day program is set up for people who don’t have anything to fall back on during an emergency, he pointed out. Lodging, food, clothing and incidentals are addressed, and if people have questions about their home insurance, those are answered as well.

Pointing to the far end of the reception centre, Morrison said the ALERT volunteers are truly “phenomenal” when it comes to pet services during a crisis.

As far as other services go, Morrison said they approach Oliver businesses and ask them if they would like to be a part of the program as a service provider.

“And a lot of them do.”

Sitting in the evacuee area, Kyle Fossett    portrayed a young couple who needed to board their dog somewhere, and they forgot to bring food for their pet.

Enter Deborah McBride, director of operations for ALERT. She said any emergency plan has to include animal services.

“We can’t be their plan but we can support their plan.”

McBride said they can keep animals at the centre or put them in foster care. She noted they work closely with Little Green Farm in Oliver. In fact, they are ALERT’s official foster residence during the pandemic.

“We’ve sent them a lot in the past year from house fires and what not.”

McBride said ALERT also has a team that works with livestock, such as horses, which are boarded at Desert Park in Osoyoos. For example, during the Eagle Bluff fire in 2019, everybody on McCuddy Creek Road evacuated their animals, which were taken to Desert Park, she said.

The volunteer group also provides evacuation services for fish and reptiles.

“We see a lot of fish where people have ponds, and they worry about them a lot. Koi especially are very expensive fish and people can’t get back to feed them.”

McBride noted that volunteers have to get a temporary permit to enter a property to access animals.

ALERT is currently recruiting volunteers in the Oliver and Osoyoos area. For more information contact [email protected]or call 250-809-7152.