As the immediate threat of wildfires in their communities wanes thanks to the Heruclean efforts of firefighters and favourable weather conditions, hundreds of specialized workers are now working to restore utilities in the Okanagan and Shuswap.
Electricity, gas, telecommunications, and drinking water have all been impacted by the aggressive wildfires that destroyed hundreds of homes in those regions over the course of a week.
Both BC Hydro and FortisBC were involved in disconnecting their services as the wildfires approached, when fire chiefs recognized there would be an impact on infrastructure, and they were among the first non-firefighters to hit the ground to assess damage and initiate repairs once the flames had receded or been pushed into the backcountry by fire crews.
“BC Hydro has quite an operation going restoring power,” said Brad Litke, with the BC Wildfire Service. “(They're) definitely unsung heroes, a large, large effort I observed this morning.”
BC Hydro has dozens of crews doing “extensive restoration work” in the Kelowna area and Shuswap, where a combined 50 kilometres of power lines and an estimated 1,000 power poles have been destroyed. The company says, by Monday, it will double its personnel in the area, with a total of 85 people expected in Kelowna and 120 in the Shuswap.
“We've seen a huge amount of our equipment destroyed, and we do see that in significant storms, but this is a very, very big effort for our crews,” said spokesperson Mora Scott, who acknowledged the damage was in the millions of dollars.
“We are dealing with multiple fires across the province, so we will pull in crews from areas that haven’t been impacted, but in addition to work that needs to be done in West Kelowna and the Shuswap, there's other areas where crews are needed right now too,” she added.
Mike McCulley, the wildfire information officer for the Kamloops Fire Centre, emphasized the complexity of fighting fires while restoring services.
“It's not an easy orchestra to pull off, this notion of recovery and getting people home,” he said. “This is the time when people need to patient and understand how dangerous it can be in an area post-wildfire.”
Repairs to the natural gas network are now complete in Kelowna, with 450 homes and businesses getting individual visits from Fortis staff to turn gas back on and re-light appliances.
“With a number of wildfires being seen across the province, FortisBC is actively monitoring the wildfires in Kamloops, Keremeos and the Shuswap regions, and taking necessary mitigation steps to help minimize the impact to customers and support the emergency response,” wrote the company in a news release, which also outlined bill credits for impacted people.
At a Saturday morning briefing in Kelowna, fire officials described the transition from active firefighting to recovery that is now underway, with garbage collection, telecommunications, and other utilities slowly getting back to normal.
The Columbia-Shuswap regional district has an added logistical challenge, with constituents facing fridges and freezers that’ve been without power for a week.
“Food's rotting and the smell is driving (wild) animals into the area,” said emergency operation centre director, Derek Sutherland. “(Conservation Officers) have had reports of problem bears, cougars, raccoons so we're getting garbage bins and freezer trucks out there.”
West Kelowna Fire Chief Jason Brolund praised the restoration crews and suggested that evacuees be aware of the ongoing work underway as they return home and consult their local government website before consuming tap-water as boil-water advisories are in place in some areas.
“You're going to continue to see the RCMP, in many cases, throughout your neighbourhood and you're going to see the firefighters from West Kelowna Fire Rescue patrolling and ensuring that things are dealt with as they need to be,” he said. “I just urge caution. Lots of things (are) happening in your neighbourhood.”
