New Westminster police officers and firefighters are in B.C.’s Interior helping first responders deal with wildfires that continue to rage out of control.
“We’re doing this to support and assist with an unprecedented fire emergency that we’ve never kind of had before,” said New Westminster Police Department spokesperson Staff Sgt. Andrew Perry.
So far, only local police officers working in seconded provincial RCMP units have been deployed, according to Perry.
On July 7, the first team of eight to 10 New West officers was sent to Williams Lake, Quesnel and 100 Mile House. A second crew left on July 11. Officers are helping with evacuations, roadblocks and protecting property, as required.
“We just had some members return in the last day or two and some new ones are going up,” he added. “Hours are up to 16 hours in a day that they’re doing now, and it sounds like they’re being rotated around.”
Mindful that more officers may be required if the fires persist, Perry said the police department has put a call out to all its members asking for volunteers should the need arise.
“We’re trying to be proactive and kind of get a list of members who can drop their life right now and go up there and help out and everything,” he said.
Whether officers working in the local detachment will be tapped to go is still unknown. It all depends on the situation in the Interior, Perry said, adding police operations in New Westminster are not going to be affected, and the costs associated with sending officers to help are being covered by the provincial government.
The New Westminster Fire and Rescue Services, meanwhile, sent its second team of firefighters to Williams Lake on Monday, according to Coun. Chuck Puchmayr.
The first crew – Erin Williams, Dustin Matson, Alasdair Dunbar and Jason Tyler – were set to return to New West with Puchmayr on Tuesday.
The firefighters sent to Williams Lake are part of a larger effort by the local fire department to provide assistance to crews in the Interior, as requested by the Provincial Office of the Fire Commissioner, according to the City of New Westminster.
The department, so far, has sent one engine to Kamloops and two to Williams Lake (one remains on standby while the other is staffed by the four-person crew).
Fire and rescue services will update mayor and council if needs change, according to the city’s website.
Calls to fire Chief Tim Armstrong for comment were not returned.
How can you help?
- Donate to the Canadian Red Cross online at tinyurl.com/wildfiredonation or by texting ‘fires’ to 45678 and a $10 donation will be added to your next cellphone bill.
- Sign up to become an emergency services volunteer. For more information, visit the provincial government’s emergency social services page at tinyurl.com/wildfirevolunteer.
- Contact a Lower Mainland evacuation centre (Cloverdale, Chilliwack) and sign up to help.
- Visit the B.C. Wildfire Evacuee Support Group Facebook page to learn more about needs specific evacuees might have.
