The Columbia-Shuswap Regional District says it is working to ensure that people in places like Anglemont and St. Ives, not on evacuation order or alert, have the supplies and support they need.

Residents in those communities in the North Shuswap are effectively trapped, with people who leave being told they won’t be allowed back because of “safety concerns and active fire conditions.”

“The best thing [people not on order] can do is continue to try and stay informed through our channels and I know its a difficult message but sit tight,” CSRD spokesperson, Tracy Hughes, told Radio NL. “If you’re having any kind of issues with resources, we are working to send resources to that area. We are working through out channels through to our suppliers to get..to make sure they are resourced.”

“We understand those people are not on order which is completely different to people who are currently in the evacuation order area and are staying.”

The message to people under evacuation order, Hughes said, is to leave those areas. CSRD EOC Director, Derek Sutherland, told community members during a news conference Tuesday that there are “enough resources on the fire to actively engage whatever comes at them.”

Hughes’ comments echoed those made by Ian Cunnings, Senior Director for Response Operations for the Ministry of Emergency Management. During Monday’s wildfire update, he urged people to reach out to their local government EOC, which will relay information to the provincial government.

“And if there were a need for assistance with that local government EOC, we would then provide that support,” Cunnings said. “So we would just encourage concerned residents to get in touch with their local government for that support.”

Residents in Anglemont, St. Ives, and Seymour Arm were told last Thursday to ensure they have enough resources to shelter in place for 72 hours in case of limited road access brought on by an evacuation of communities like Lee Creek, Scotch Creek, and Celista.

“One of the interesting outcomes of the rapidity of the alerts and orders that have come into our community is that people up in Anglemont and St. Ives who were a long ways away from any issues yesterday morning, find themselves locked in for a 72 hour period without having any time to really prepare for that,” Jay Simpson, the CSRD’s Area Director for the North Shuswap, said in a Saturday evening post on Facebook.

“The power is out, they may or may not have food, fuel if they have a generator. So the question is, how do we deal with that?”

Power has been out for the North Shuswap since Friday, when the Bush Creek East fire went on a a massive 20 kilometre run, fuelled by sustained 40 km/hr winds brought on by a cold front.

Residents aim to organize boat convoys with supplies

On Monday, a boat convoy was organized to supply residents of the communities cut off by the flames. The plan was to gather in Blind Bay on the south shore of the Shuswap Lake, load donated supplies from a Sysco Foods semi-trailer, and ferry it to Anglemont on the other side of the lake.

“This is my community, we live in Anglemont, these are all our friends, extended family, and we’re just trying to help these first responders that feel abandoned,” Organizer Mark Taggart told Global News, adding locals were frustrated their efforts were being blocked as they were steering clear of any evacuation orders or alerts.

“That’s what the government is not understanding, the [Columbia Shuswap Regional District] and the local governments, they don’t understand that people feel abandoned and they’re just trying to save their houses.”

Hughes also told Radio NL that while well-meaning people may want to run supplies over by boat, they could end up unintentionally interfering with BC Wildfire Service operations on Shuswap Lake.

“If they’re doing that through our channels, that is a lot more effective than them trying to get in their boats,” she said. “Often BC Wildfire has limited windows with all this smoke where they can launch aircraft. So we need to be keeping that availability open.”

While the Sysco truck was stopped in Salmon Arm, locals went ahead and loaded supplies including generators, fuel, and water into their boat. They were also able to get those supplies over once word got out that the BC Wildfire Service had to ground its aircraft because of heavy smoke.

Shuswap MLA Greg Kyllo, Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone, and Kamloops-North Thompson MLA Peter Milobar – all members of the opposition BC United Party – released a joint statement Tuesday, after “hearing about government efforts to block critical supplies.”

“Yesterday, Premier David Eby spoke about the spirit and resourcefulness of numerous contractors who stayed behind to protect homes and structures in the North Shuswap, providing many costly items like fuel needed to run generators so water pumps would continue to operate structural protection units despite the absence of official government authorization to do so,” the statement said.

“Sadly, these same contractors are being abandoned by Eby’s government, which is currently blocking critical supplies from reaching them, in an apparent effort to force them out.”

“Without an immediate and significant deployment of government personnel and resources to continue fighting the fire, it is completely unacceptable that the government is blocking food, water, and fuel from reaching these contractors who are credited with successfully preventing the loss of numerous homes and structures in Scotch Creek, Celista and other areas of the North Shuswap,” the statement added.

“These individuals should receive the supplies they need to continue to protect properties and structures in their communities. This government must order an end to this blockade of vital resources immediately.”

Reached for comment, RCMP spokesperson, Staff Sgt. Kris Clark, told Radio NL that the planned delivery of food and water destined for the North Shuswap “had been procured under false pretenses.”

“On Monday, the Chase RCMP learned of a planned delivery of food and water to Scotch Creek through Blind Bay,” Clark said, in an email. “The company believed it was to support residents within an area not subject to an Evacuation Order when it was actually destined for a location within the Evacuation Order area.

“No deliveries can be supported into an active fire area currently under Evacuation Order that have not been properly authorized by BC Wildfire Service as well as the local Regional District.”

The Columbia Shuswap Regional District says if people in Anglemont or St. Ives are in need of supplies they should contact the CSRD by email or by phone at 250-833-3396.

– With files from Paul James