Winds a worry as evacuees return home

KAMLOOPS — Residents of two B.C. communities evacuated due to wildfires have been allowed to return, but officials say it’s unclear when thousands of others will be allowed to go home.

Evacuation orders for 100 Mile House and Princeton were downgraded to alerts on Saturday, allowing residents to go home, although with the knowledge that they may have to leave again on a moment’s notice.

People returning to the Interior communities have been picking up cleanup kits and advice from the Red Cross as they return home, Al Richmond, chairman of the Cariboo Regional District, told a conference call Sunday.

“I think it’s been a happy time for most people there, even those who had some loses. They’re glad to be back,” Richmond said.

More than 30,000 people remained displaced by wildfires on Sunday as a cold front moved across central and southern B.C., bringing with it gusting winds that threatened to stir up flames.

The weather is making it difficult to predict when other evacuees, including about 10,000 people from Williams Lake, may be able to return home, said fire information officer Navi Saini.

“It really depends on fire activity,” she said. “Although we are making progress on the fires, it is a pretty fluid situation right now, and with the forecast wind, it’s something we’ll continue to monitor and there’ll be discussions had later.”

Residents of Williams Lake were forced out more than a week ago when flames threatened to cut off highways that could provide future escapes.

“Without an itemized receipt, it is not possible to confirm that expenses were compliant and, for example, did not include alcohol purchases,” the report stated.

Although the audit didn’t raise any concerns about directors’ pay, it did recommend they move to an hourly rate for attending board meetings. At the time, they were paid for half a day if meetings ran less than four hours or a full day if they went longer.

“For example, a director attended five hours of meetings but was paid a full day’s pay,” the report explained, noting that sticking to an hourly rate of $62.50 would have saved Interior Health $3,000 in just one month during the audit period.

That recommendation has since been put into practice, according to John O’Fee, a Kamloops lawyer who joined the board in July 2016 and became chairman three months later.

Directors have also “slightly revised” the board’s policy manual twice to comply with other recommendations, including requiring an itemized receipt for any purchase over $5, and are “taking steps” to reduce hotel costs.

“For example, IH board directors will be staying at a hotel near the airport for this year’s Union of BC Municipalities meetings in Vancouver, specifically to avoid the high cost of hotels downtown during this conference,” O’Fee said in a statement.

He went on to note the board ordered the audit to ensure it was using public funds responsibly, and has cut its own budget by 10 per cent over five years to $369,000 for 2017-18.

Interior Health’s board meetings are held five times annually in Kelowna and attended by directors from as far away as Williams Lake and Cranbrook.

Boards of all six B.C. health authorities are appointed by the provincial government.