Prince George, B.C. – The  tragedy that has  hit Ft. McMurray Alberta this week  has struck a chord  with   Prince George residents.   There is hardly  a person in PG who doesn’t have a family member or friend  who is , was, or has  worked in that  northern Alberta community.

As was witnessed by last year’s Little Bobtail Lake fire  south west of Prince George ,  a wildfire can  happen very close to home.

Michael Higgins is the Emergency Management Services Coordinator for the Regional District  of Fraser Fort George “We live in a forested area, and based on my observation and fire activity that’s occurred in the past,  there is a potential for that type of event  occurring here.”

There have been  great efforts in the region to remove,  or at the very least reduce,  fire fuels.  In particular there have been  prescription  treatment for areas where there have been  large stands of  mountain pine beetle kill within the City of Prince George and throughout the region. “On regional district properties  we have completed fire smart activities on  all of our properties that were at risk  of fire” says Higgins “We’re working with all of our communities   have them  fire smart and to have  people adopt fire smart  principles on  private properties.”

This is  emergency preparedness week  across Canada  and  the mass evacuation of Ft. McMurray  may have been the  wake up call for many to ensure they know what  they  should do in the event of  a catastrophe.   “The best time to plan is ahead of time” says Higgins “Having those conversations with family about  what to do,  in the event  you are together or separated  before during and after evacuation is important  so a family has a better idea of what to do.  Having that same  conversation at the community level is also important, because you may,  as we are seeing now,  require support from your neighbours or those  people you may not know in your community.”

He says a community should have a plan in place and have the residents understand what their responsibility  is  part of that plan is  extremely important “As an example,  we’re seeing issues around fuel  and  what to take,  what do I  need to take  with me?  A lot of those things can be addressed  through preparedness planning.”

Higgins says having a “go-bag” ready is a great idea.  especially  for us in the north where we are going to be susceptible to these  types of fires  that start very quickly and move very quickly.  We should, in the spring,  be putting together a grab and go back that has the basics in it.”  He says the basics include  water,  change of clothes, personal hygiene  items,  as well as  documents and  photos.   He suggests  photos and important documents be scanned to a thumb drive  to ensure they aren’t  lost “Grabbing a file box or  photo albums are probably not the easiest thing to do but if that’s what you’ve got that’s what  you take.”

For a more complete list of items that should be in a g-pack,  click on the image at right ( image courtesy  RDFFG)

For  tips on other  emergency  issues,   click on the links below:

Evacuation

Evacuee Support

EvacuationTips for Pets and Livestock