The RDNO would like to reassure its readiness and preparedness of the BX/Swan Lake, Silver Star and Lumby Fire Departments should an emergency event occur. In recent weeks, the BX / Swan Lake and Lumby Fire Departments have provided personnel, apparatus and equipment to assist with firefighting efforts in the Shuswap, Central Okanagan and other regions in the Province; however, the departments are still equipped if an emergency was to happen within our area.
The three RDNO fire departments have been on heightened standby for the past week and have been completing patrols of the communities. They have also been responding to numerous small wildfires due to recent lightning strikes. They have been practicing and reviewing their structure protection programs; Silver Star Fire Department purchased some new equipment this spring to improve their effectiveness. Also, this spring, meetings were held at Silver Star with various stakeholder agencies to develop an evacuation plan and ensure we are effective in the event of an evacuation. Plans for Silver Star, Cosens Bay and Kingfisher / Mabel Lake can be found on the RDNO website at www.rdno.ca/emergencymanagement/evacuation-route-plans.
The RDNO continues to assist the City of Vernon, supporting the Central Okanagan Regional District with Emergency Support Services.
To be kept updated with the latest from the RDNO, the public is encouraged to visit the RDNO website at www.rdno.ca, Facebook page, and sign up for the e-newsletter (Emergency Management list) to receive updates. In addition, the RDNO will send information to local media. The RDNO also uses the Alertable app to send alerts and information about significant emergencies in our Electoral Areas.
The next update from the RDNO will be released at 2:00 pm Friday, August 25, unless new information is received from the BC Wildfire Service.