The St. Mary Wildfire is continuing to threaten more homes as 71 new properties are under an evacuation alert.
This alert is for properties on Clearview Road, McGinty Road, Pineridge Road, Sommerfeldt Road, 8055 Highway 95A and 3497, 3503, 3509, 3567, 3624, 3639, 3684, 3703, 3706, 3716, 3721, 3734, 3750, 3762
Mission-Wycliffe Road.
“Evacuation Alerts are intended to give residents time to prepare themselves and their properties in the event that conditions worsen. Taking the time at this stage to put together important papers (like insurance papers), medications, valuables, supplies for children and pets, and other important items can make a huge difference if they need to leave on a moment’s notice,” says Regional Emergency Operations Centre Information Officer, Loree Duczek.
Those with livestock need to make arrangements to move them.
The RDEK also suggests moving boats and other recreational vehicles during the alert stage.
While you don’t need to evacuate now, you may have to at any time.
Door-to-door notification in the Alert area is underway at this hour with the assistance of RCMP and Search and Rescue.
There are now 108 properties on evacuation alert under the RDEk and 15 on evacuation order.
This is on top of the 52 homes on Evacuation Order and 9 homes on Evacuation Alert in ʔaq̓am.
“We are working closely with the BC Wildfire Service and ʔaq̓am as this is still very much an evolving situation,” adds Duczek.
“We are once again urging all residents of the East Kootenay to register for the Regional Evacuation Notification System if they have not already done so. This is a free service that will immediately notify you if your property is the subject of an evacuation alert or order. It can sometimes take several hours to complete a door-to-door notification, and this system can send thousands of notifications out in under a minute. It’s an incredibly helpful tool when every second counts.”
The fire has grown to an estimated 2,600 hectares.
