Return home months away for First Nation fire victims
Members of a tiny First Nation in northwest B.C. remain scattered across the province in hotels and relatives’ homes after fleeing destructive wildfires this summer.
It will take months to clean up the damage in Tahltan First Nation territory in Telegraph Creek, which was devastated by four wildfires that merged into one 1,180-square-kilometre blaze in August, said Chief Rick McLean.
Crews must clear debris and burnt-out houses, ensure the water is drinkable, restore police and health services and even restock store shelves, he said.
Rebuilding 21 destroyed homes can’t even begin until spring, when the ground isn’t frozen.
“It’s mixed emotions,” McLean said. “Some people are happy they got out and have their safety and lives. Other people are taking it a little bit harder after losing all their stuff, everything.”
The 2018 wildfire season was the worst in B.C. in terms of land burned, scorching more than 13,000 square kilometres.
The flames hit First Nations especially hard and sparked complaints of poor funding and communication with Indigenous groups.
The federal government is responsible for funding emergency planning for First Nations on reserve lands, while the province funds regional districts. Indigenous groups say the result is a complicated, bureaucratic system that left them ill-prepared.
McLean said the Tahltan did not have adequate resources to battle wildfires. Its fire department runs on $10,000 a year, he said, which is not nearly enough given that maintaining and fuelling a fire truck costs several thousand dollars on its own.
But he said he spoke in mid-August with Premier John Horgan, who raised his concerns with Prime Minister Justin Trudeau.
Since then McLean has had further talks with the province and Indigenous Services Canada and believes they’ll help the nation rebuild.
“Between (government funds) and our insurance, if you put all the pieces together, we hope to come up with enough to rebuild those homes that were lost and rebuild the community,” he said.
Mobile homes will eventually be set up in the community for people whose houses were destroyed, said Kristina Michaud, who lives in Prince George but whose family is from Telegraph Creek.
“It’s been difficult,” she said. “There are still lots of people who are in need and who are still displaced from the fires.”