Wildfire season officially officially started on March 1.
As we prepare ourselves and our businesses for the upcoming season there are a lot of the same questions being raised: Can the same thing in The Bow Valley that happened to Jasper? Jasper has reported that 37% per cent of businesses were either entirely or partially lost in the July wildfire, including 800 residential units. The 2016 Ft McMurray reportedly took 2,400 homes and businesses, cost over 4 Billion dollars and was actually 17 times the size of the Jasper fire.
Before the summer of 2024, most of us would have answered “Canmore and Banff should be fine”. But the game is changing and what we previously thought as the unthinkable is now a real threat. Natural emergencies don’t always follow the “shoulds”, they throw in curve balls. Natural disasters, in particular wildfires can throw us off by arriving unusually early in the season, or historically late. They can perform uncharacteristically, like jumping rivers, previously seen as a natural water break or burning all year long.
Regardless of our levels of readiness, we need to be prepared both from a home and business perspective. Spend the time now forming a personal plan for your family but also a business continuity plan (if applicable) before the alerts and notifications.
Evacuations can occur without warnings or alerts and can happen in the middle of the night or day. In the case of the Ft.McMurray fires, the general public had already started their day when they found out they were being evacuated. Kids were already dropped at school; workers were at the workplace. And with the recent California fires, alerts were sparse, and unreliable. A great number of people were not able to return home to collect personal items or pets which is unfathomable to most of us.
Having these discussions now about plan B’s with neighbours, friends and colleagues could be the best conversation you ever have. Even in the workplace, this is a critical step for our new reality. What will happen if we lose the physical building? Where is crucial data or equipment stored? Is everyone prepared to work remotely if they can? So many questions and often daunting, but there is more time on this side of a crisis than the other. Take the time to create the plan, prepare the ‘To-Go’ bag and have the conversations. What’s in your emergency bag should be duplicated in your car. You have a 50/50 chance of being evacuated from your home during a natural disaster, meaning the other 50% is when you’re away from the house.
Here are a few tips for packing an emergency supply kit:
- Fill your vehicle with gas as soon as possible, before an actual evacuation alert is issued. Also get some cash from the bank. Keep your phones charged as much as possible.
- Pack your items in bins/crates or bags you can easily carry. You’ll store them in your car but may need to cart them to other locations.
- Include food and water for everyone in your household. At least 4 litres per day/person. + 1/day for pets. Three-day supply of non-perishable food is a good start.
- Pack a change of clothes for up to a week and personal hygiene items. If you are taking kids along, pack a comfort item for each of them and books/small toy that may help keep them occupied w/o wifi. Bring warm clothing; long periods of rain and low cloud cover will bring cool damp temperatures.
- Don’t forget your pets. Include food, water, medications, travel crates or cages, leash, and/or litter box and litter for your furry friends.
- Remember medication. Pack a supply of prescription medications and eye care, if needed, Advil/Tylenol including children’s brand if needed.
- Take with you or add picture to the cloud of: passports, health insurance cards, legal documents (birth certificates, SIN cards, wills, vehicle registration and ownership papers, marriage/divorce papers and insurance documents etc.)
- Collect: phone numbers. Write down all critical phone numbers; babysitters, family members, neighbours in the event you cannot charge your phone but can borrow someone’s. Flashlights, lanterns and extra batteries.
- Bring your cell phone and chargers, along with some cash in case power is out in the area and ATM’s are not available.
- If you have time, pack valuables, family photos or other irreplaceable items, laptop computers, etc. If you don’t have room for computers, you can bring just the hard drive or a flash drive with your important data stored on it.
- Bundle up what you’ll need for the little ones. Infant supplies, such as formula or milk, bottles, baby food, diapers, and wipes, may be hard to come by, so pack what you’ll need
Bonus: Don’t forget a first aid kit with supplies to treat injuries.
Remember to bring something to read or do. There could be long periods of time sitting somewhere waiting with no or little internet, especially with children.
Preparing yourself at the job:
Someone from the company should be assigned the task of keeping up to dates with the Town or the Province. Messages with updates can be sent out from one central person
Before you leave for work ensure you have the names/numbers of your children or other loved ones written down in the event your phone is not charged. During the the Ft Mac fires, workers were notified they were being evacuated after they dropped their kids off.
Training Available from Bow Valley Safety: