The B.C. Wildfire Service was forced to temporarily reassign crews fighting fires in the province’s Shuswap region on Aug. 23 after protesters showed up at an RCMP roadblock in what police say was an effort to “overwhelm” the blockade.
“Wednesday night, the B.C. Wildfire Service was informed of a potential safety risk and temporarily reassigned staff to other areas on the fire in the North Shuswap. The situation on the ground resolved safely,” Jean Strong, an information officer for the Wildfire Service, told The Epoch Times by email.
“Safety for all remains the number one priority. Crews are continuing the firefight on the Adams Complex as planned.”
As wildfires continue to rage throughout B.C., firefighters in the Shuswap region have been tackling the 410-square-kilometre Bush Creek East fire that has destroyed properties and caused the evacuation of approximately 11,000 people.
On Aug. 23, around 20 protesters confronted a blockade of police cars near the community of Sorrento, which is close to the fire. In several videos uploaded to social media, the protesters tell police officers that it is illegal to block the road and they believe politicians have no right to prevent local residents from using it.
The group, which organized on Facebook, planned to rally enough support to push through the blockade and support property owners still fighting fires within the evacuation zone. Some Shuswap residents have defied wildfire evacuation orders, with officials warning they are putting lives at risk and compromising firefighting strategy.
“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,” said Southeast District RCMP spokesperson Cpl. James Grandy in a written statement.
“This is a warning to all you Canadians out there, this is what’s coming,” one blockade protester said in a video uploaded to social media.
“This is nothing like when we fought fires back in [2004] when ... they actually called upon the people to provide aid. I was in high school taking a forestry program and they called all of us down to do it because we were qualified,” he said. “This is something else, and people need to be aware and they need to open their eyes.”
According to Staff Sgt. Kris Clark, a senior media relations officer with the RCMP, the Chase RCMP first learned of a plan to deliver food and water to Scotch Creek on Aug. 20.
“The delivery had been procured under false pretenses as the company believed it was to support residents within an area not subject to an evacuation order when it was actually destined for a location within the evacuation order area,” Mr. Clark told The Epoch Times in an email.
Mr. Clark said the RCMP does not allow deliveries to be brought into an active fire area currently under an evacuation order that has “not been properly authorized by B.C. Wildfire Service, as well as the local Regional District.”
“There should be no one inside an area under evacuation order, and those who do remain are risking their own safety and the safety of emergency crews,” he said.
RCMP confirmed that no one was arrested in the confrontation and no charges are expected to be laid.
