LESSONS LEARNED
“It can’t happen here,” southern Saskatchewanians say of the horrific forest fire that scorched, and almost consumed, Fort McMurray. And they’d be right. A rare advantage of living in a region denuded of forests is that the mass of combustible material isn’t so close. But don’t get cocky. There are plenty of things that can threaten us on the Prairies, and it’s vital each of us stay alert and make plans to handle them.
A realistic assessment of these threats must include flooding in some places, and also tornadoes — for Regina was the site in 1912 of the worst (in lives lost) tornado in Canadian history. Anybody who remembers the ice storm that snapped power lines, poles and towers in Central Canada in 1999 must have wondered if it could happen here. It can.
Our southern neighbour, Minot, N.D., has temporarily been evacuated of thousands of people at several points in the last 20 years because of two chemical spills and a flood in 2011. Incidents involving chemicals are a particular worry in Regina, bisected as it is by the main line of the Canadian Pacific Railway and several major highways.
So what lessons can we learn from Fort McMurray’s plight?
First, consider the possibility you might have to leave your home for days on end. The rule of thumb in emergency work is this: Citizens should have enough food and water to survive on their own for 72 hours, after which services either will be repaired or emergency supplies will arrive in the area. Do you have that capability? Do you have a “bug-out” bag containing everything from toothpaste to means of keeping warm?
Do you have the capability to move fast if, say, a cloud of poisonous fumes is approaching? One of the lessons of Fort McMurray was what happens when thousands of people coast into a few gas stations at the same time. Keep your vehicle fuelled as much as practical.
Cellphone batteries run down fast. Spread out their use among your group. Figure out a way to conserve batteries. Keep backup sources charged. Consider having a trusted person — a relative, for example — who’s well out of the danger zone, and can relay messages. That requires setting up things in advance.
And that brings us to our final point: Think about the unthinkable and unpleasant. Painful as this is, think about a potential evacuation and the unsettling forces that might require one. It’s necessary to do so. It’s one thought that could save lives — or at least make them easier and safer in tough times.