Evacuation Order issued for Village of Slocan and surrounding areas due to the Slocan Lake Complex wildfire
By Regional District of Central Kootenay
On the recommendation of the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS), the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) will be issuing an Evacuation Order for the entire Village of Slocan (208 properties), as well as 309 properties, and 110 Parcel Identifiers (PIDs) in Electoral Area H, effective 8:00 am PST, Sunday, July 28, due to surrounding fires within the Slocan Fire Complex. The properties in Electoral Area H are divided between Enterprise Creek and North of the Village of Slocan, and the West side of the Slocan River, South of the Village of Slocan. A State of Local Emergency is now in place for all of Electoral Area H. See attachments for the complete list of addresses and maps.
With a warming and drying trend settling back into the region and elevated winds forecasted, an increase in fire activity is expected on the Ponderosa (N51069) and Mulvey Creek (N51117) wildfires. Given the unique topography, significant direct attack safety challenges, and projected fire behaviour, the BCWS has recommended the current Evacuation Alert be upgraded to an Evacuation Order.
A reminder, Highway 6 is closed in both directions between Harris Road and Springer Creek Road (1 km south of New Denver to 1 km south of Slocan). The only egress for evacuees will be south on Highway 6. Click here for Highway 6 information on DriveBC.
Residents and Visitors will be required to leave once the Evacuation Order goes into effect at 8:00 am PST, Sunday, July 28. Evacuated residents are asked to go to their pre-arranged emergency locations, such as your primary residence or family or friends’ house. Prior to the Evacuation Order going into effect, residents are encouraged to create a profile for Emergency Support Services (ESS) online at https://ess.gov.bc.ca or by calling 1.800.387.4258. By doing this, it will expedite the registration process tomorrow.
In person registration for ESS will begin at 8:00 am, Sunday July 28 at the Selkirk College Castlegar Campus reception centre, 301 Frank Beinder Way. Only residents on Evacuation Order are eligible for ESS. If you are on Evacuation Alert and voluntarily evacuate, you will not receive ESS support.
ESS may not be able to accommodate your pets, so make sure you have prepared your pets by having appropriate cages, food, water and bowls, and ensure they are wearing identification. You may wish to arrange to have your pets cared for by family or friends.
Click here for information about ESS.
Access to the Evacuation Order area is being controlled. You will not be permitted to return to your home during an Evacuation Order unless it is safe to do so and you have been given permission by local officials and emergency personnel.
The Slocan Lake Fire Complex includes the Aylwin Creek wildfire, Wilson Creek wildfire, Ponderosa wildfire, Mulvey Creek wildfire, and Nemo Creek wildfire. A complex is created when multiple wildfires are managed by a single Incident Management Team, and resources and equipment are shared between all incidents in the complex.
Updates or changes to the Evacuation Order will be provided via the RDCK website, Facebook and Twitter as more information becomes available. For details about evacuation and emergency preparedness, along with other resources, please visit www.rdck.ca/eocinfo. The RDCK EOC public inquiry line is 250.352.7701.
For up to date information on current wildfire activity, conditions and prohibitions, call 250.318.
7715 or visit www.bcwildfire.ca.
For more information about evacuations and emergency preparedness, along with other resources:
- Current RDCK Evacuation Alerts, Orders and Rescinds or call 250.352.7701
- Sign up for RDCK Emergency Notification System to receive notifications
- RDCK web map
- Public weather alerts for BC from Environment Canada
- BC Wildfire – Interactive Map of Current Events
- Fortis BC Outage Map or call 1.866.436.7847
- BC Hydro outage map or call 1.800.224.9376
- Nelson Hydro 1.877.324.9376
- Drive BC for highway closures and road conditions
- For BC Air Quality Health Index
- Prepared BC
Incorporated in 1965, the Regional District of Central Kootenay (RDCK) is a local government that serves 60,000 residents in 11 electoral areas and nine member municipalities. The RDCK provides more than 160 services, including community facilities, fire protection and emergency services, grants, planning and land use, regional parks, resource recovery and handling, transit, water services and much more. For more information about the RDCK, visit www.rdck.ca.
