With wildfires affecting communities across British Columbia, the Town of Creston said it has made significant investments in emergency preparedness, planning, training and community resilience.
The town maintains an emergency management program led by a full-time emergency management co-ordinator and supported by an emergency response team. The team is prepared to activate the town’s emergency operations centre when required.
An emergency operations centre serves as a central co-ordination hub during emergencies such as wildfires, floods and severe weather. It can co-ordinate emergency response efforts, manage information, support first responders, communicate with the public and assist with recovery planning.
The town said its emergency response team helped co-ordinate response efforts, public communications and recovery planning during a water main break in early August.
“Our community is in excellent hands,” said Asha Delisle, Emergency Management Coordinator for the Town of Creston. “I have the privilege of working alongside a team of highly knowledgeable professionals who are not only fully trained and equipped to respond to emergencies, but who also genuinely care about the community we live and play in.”
The town said staff regularly participate in emergency preparedness exercises and continuing education.
Emergency planning and community resilience
The town said its disaster response plan outlines how the organization prepares for, responds to and recovers from emergencies, including roles and responsibilities, communication procedures, resource co-ordination and decision-making.
The town also has an evacuation plan intended to support timely and co-ordinated decision-making when evacuations are required. Residents are encouraged to familiarize themselves with evacuation procedures before an emergency.
Creston also participates in the FireSmart program and has a FireSmart co-ordinator who helps residents take steps to reduce wildfire risk around their homes and properties.
FireSmart Canada said research shows specific changes to homes and their surroundings can substantially reduce the risk of wildfire damage.
The town’s community wildfire resiliency plan focuses on proactive risk reduction. According to the town, the plan contains 46 recommended actions intended to improve Creston’s resilience to wildfire, with a number of the actions already being implemented.
Emergency notifications
The town encourages residents to use Voyent Alert, an emergency-notification service that can provide location-based notifications. During emergencies, notifications can include information about evacuation alerts and orders, road closures and other developments affecting particular areas.
The town said emergency preparedness is a shared responsibility and that planning, community partnerships and informed residents can improve its ability to respond to emergencies.
Emergency preparedness information, evacuation resources and wildfire-resiliency information are available at em.creston.ca.
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