While a majority of evacuation orders in the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District and the Thompson-Nicola Regional District have been lifted, there is no set date yet when the McArthur Island Reception Centre will close its doors.

That is according to the City’s Emergency Supports Supervisor, Natasha Hartson, who says there will still be supports for people who aren’t able to return because their house was either damaged or destroyed.

“So we are continuing with what we call renewals, and we’ll continue to support those individuals over the coming weeks,” she said, on NL Newsday. “After that, then other programs and supports start to step in to support those longer term through the recovery effort.”

Hartson says the north Kamloops facility has supported 3,600 evacuees – mostly from the Shuswap – since it opened its doors on Aug. 17. She says the demand for supports in Kamloops has slowed down a bit over the past few days as more people were able to go back home.

Derek Sutherland, the CSRD’s Emergency Operations Centre Director, told residents returning home this week to not cancel emergency supports until they know the state of their property.

“If you cancel, they cannot be reinstated,” Sutherland said. “It is easier to keep the measures in place until you have a clear picture upon your return.”

More than 200 CSRD properties were either destroyed or damaged by the Bush Creek East fire. Another 98 properties were impacted on Skwlax te Secwepemculecw land, while there were 11 properties with some kind of damage in the TNRD.

Hartson says while the ESS program will slowly begin to wind down, there is no set date yet for the Kamloops reception centre to close its doors.

“There is no hard and fast tomorrow we’re going to close or when that is going to happen, but over the coming weeks, yes, it will slowly dwindle down,” Hartson said. “Those people that need those additional supports long term will be supported by other entities and ESS will slowly end its services.”

“As everyone is able to go home, and then those folks who have lost properties, those individuals will be supported by their local governments or their First Nation communities more directly. That will just take us a bit of time. Right now, everybody is still in that phase of figuring it out. They’re just going home.”

Busy Summer for ESS Volunteers

Hartson also says she has been “humbled” by the amount of time and effort being put in by the team of volunteers this summer.

“Its quite incredible the amount of hours they are putting in but yes, it takes a toll on people and it can be tiring and it is emotional hard work too,” she said. “They’re dealing with people in some of their most vulnerable scenarios.”

“It takes a toll but I just have to say that I am overwhelmed with how amazing the volunteer base is and all the work that they do.”

Hartson says it has been a busy summer for the team of volunteers in Kamloops, as the Reception Centre was first activated in late July when the Ross Moore Lake was flaring up. There was a bit of downtime when a majority of evacuation orders were rescinded, though things picked up again when the Bush Creek East fire flared up in mid-August.

“I think we did amazing work under the circumstances that we had and I would say Kamloops has – you know – this isn’t their first time being a host community so we continue to improve the processes along the way,” Hartson added.

“There is always room for improvement and so I look forward to those discussions as we do wind down over the coming weeks.”

Hartson says people hoping to volunteer with the ESS program should register online as it requires specific training, courses, and background checks that need to be completed.

For more on the Emergency Support Services program, go here.