After some three weeks of being detached from their community and homes, the people of Clinton and the surrounding area are heading back to their homes Saturday.

A Friday afternoon update involving local residents was put on by the various stakeholders involved, which included the Village of Clinton and the TNRD, as well as updates from BC Hydro and BC Wildfire.

As part of it, officials have now confirmed that the entire Village, as well as 373 properties under TNRD evacuation orders will be able to go home as of 8am Saturday.

The evacuation orders — downgraded to an alert — also cover other areas of the south Cariboo, including Chasm, Big Bar Lake and Meadow Lake.

As part of the update on Friday, and in discussions with Village officials the evening before, we’re now getting a better sense of what folks in Clinton can expect upon their return.

While everyone in the greater Clinton area won’t be able to ignore the stark contrast in the overall changes to the area’s landscape, individual levels of relief and despair are likely to vary widely — depending on which side of the invisible border line between the Village and the Thompson Nicola Regional District folks live on.

This, as the Clinton Fire Department and members of the BC Wildfire Service are being credited with saving the vast majority of the properties within the Village-proper from suffering any fire damage.

“It’s different in the Village and out of the Village,” said Brian Doddridge, Chief Administrative Officer for the Village of Clinton, as part of a conversation with Radio NL on Thursday evening ahead of the Friday information session.

“Within the village itself, people are not going to notice much of a difference,” said Doddridge.  “Our fire crews and BC Wildfire were incredibly successful in being able to save structures inside the Village-proper.”

But Doddridge warns that getting into the Village of Clinton is going to be an eye-opener for many.

“Some of the access areas leading into the Village, though, are another story,” Doddridge told Radio NL ahead of the official update, and then expanded a bit on that on Friday.

“It’s important to prepare yourself for the fact that you will be witnessing damage to the natural and built environments,” Doddridge noted. “This is going to be very distressing to witness and to see.”

“Important to note that the environment has changed, and it doesn’t look the same coming into town,” he additionally cautioned.

While a precise list of the losses have not been made public, the Thompson Nicola Regional District — which administers areas surrounding the Village of Clinton — has previously said that 126 structures in the immediate area had been lost in the fire.

A number of those structures are people’s homes.

Locals warned to be prepared for service challenges 

While the window for returning is opening up at 8am Saturday for Village residents to return, officials were quick to note that this is not a requirement.

Those who have no homes to go back to are being asked to keep the TNRD informed about their ESS funding, because when the evacuation orders are lifted, that signals the province to hit end on its automatic supports for those registered in a specific community.

But the TNRD says those who don’t have a home to return to in the area surrounding Clinton can continue to access daily subsidies for hotels and other essentials as they work with the Regional District to determine longer-term needs.

While electrical, telecommunications, and natural gas services are fully functional, water services are still going to be a challenge, with Friday’s update providing some insight into why it may take a while to get Village water back to a stage where its tap-drinkable.

Clinton residents will be returning to a boil water advisory.

“To assist with the wildfire fight, Public Works made the hard decision — but ultimately the great decision — to bypass the water treatment plant and run raw water though the village’s water system,” revealed Village CAO Brian Doddridge as part of Friday’s update.

That move ensured that water would move freely through the pipes for fire crews to draw from as they worked to fight back the flames from entering the Village, as the water treatment plant was without power during the height of the danger.

While that direct line feed would provide the water to save homes, it also means the system will now have to secure two back-to-back tests by Interior Health which show contaminants below acceptable levels before a boil water advisory can be lifted.

Managing Spoiled Food and Appliances

One of the bigger challenges facing returning residents had been the disposal of spoiled food and the cleaning of refrigerators and freezers.

With changes in environmental policies, there was a recommendation from Interior Health is that people simply remove the spoiled food and clean their appliance thoroughly, rather than resorting to throwing them away.

However, the TNRD did provide a piece of positive news for folks who just aren’t willing to take that chance with their freezer or fridge.

Those who want to dispose of them WILL be able to take the units — without being forced to clean them out — to one of the TNRD’s Eco Depos.

Provided they are sealed up, Jamie Vieira with the Regional District revealed as part of the Friday update the TNRD will be accepting the tainted fridges and freezers, and will only charge residents the standard fees you would normally pay to remove garbage of a similar weight.

There were earlier concerns that the TNRD wouldn’t be able to accept the appliances, leading to concerns some might simply resort to driving the unwanted freezers and fridges out to a secluded area and illegally dumping them on the environment — a move which is both illegal and potentially damaging to the local environment and wildlife.

Doddridge also suggested there could be a broader community effort to help those who might need some extra assistance, particularly for seniors and others who might require additional help.

Those details are expected to be finalized once folks in Clinton get back home.

But in providing the update about a Saturday return home, the Village is also warning those who return to be ‘self sufficient.’

It’s being recommended people bring food, water and other supplies to last you for “a few days” as the Village works to get the rest of the main services in the community back into full operation.

“Council has communicated to me their priority of getting people home, over making sure that everything is perfect when they get here,” noted Doddridge.