Chilliwack and Surrey wildfire evacuation centres scaling down

Wildfire evacuee reception centres in the Lower Mainland have scaled down their operations over the past few weeks as the number of evacuees from the B.C. Interior has dwindled.

Reception centres were set up in Chilliwack and Surrey in mid-July, when the number of people displaced by the fires climbed to around 37,000. There are currently 23 evacuation orders affecting 2,672 people.

“The needs have tapered down quite a bit,” said Surrey support services manager Kerri Van Eaton.

Surrey’s reception centre at the Cloverdale Arena has registered 4,300 evacuees since it opened on July 14. It served 700 people during the first three days in operation, and is now receiving about 25 people a day. The people who are registering are a mix of new evacuees and those who have to re-register each week.

The reception centre has 108 beds, none of which have been used.

When it was first established, the reception centre was open every day from 9 a.m. to 7 p.m. It has gradually scaled back its hours, and this week began seeing people from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m. on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays.

On Tuesday, two security guards were the only people there.

The arena reopens on Sept. 11 for fall programming and Van Eaton said it takes about two weeks to put ice in the arena.

“We’ve got all those plans in place,” Van Eaton said.

“We’re working with (Emergency Management B.C.) through daily communications and really evaluating what the needs are and balancing with the needs of the community.”

In Chilliwack, the reception centre is at Chilliwack Secondary School.

Since it opened on July 15, 2,150 people have registered. On its first full day of operation, about 200 people were helped — now, they’re seeing fewer than 10 people per day, both new evacuees and those who are re-registering.

Assistant fire chief and emergency co-ordinator Chris Wilson said the tapering off of evacuees has been fairly steady, other than a sharp decline when Williams Lake residents were allowed to return home on July 27 and a small bump after Clinton was evacuated on July 29.

These days, people are mostly looking for grocery referrals and financial assistance for the family and friends with whom they are staying.

There was capacity for 130 people to stay in group lodging at the school, but other than one family on the first night, no one has taken advantage of the lodging.

The Chilliwack centre’s hours of operation have also been reduced and mirror Surrey’s.

According to the B.C. Wildfire Service, there are 134 fires burning throughout B.C., four of which started on Monday. Three major fires are drawing the bulk of the attention: The Plateau Fire (the biggest fire in the province’s history), Hanceville-Riske Creek and Elephant Hill. Since April 1, 1,068 fires have burned an estimated 10,219 square kilometres of land.

“This is the worst fire season on record in terms of hectares burned, and given that it is only three weeks into August at this point there is certainly potential for that number to keep growing,” said chief fire information officer Kevin Skrepnek, noting that records go back to 1912.

This is the worst fire season on record in terms of hectares burned ... there is certainly potential for that number to keep growing.