The Canadian Red Cross has launched an appeal to help BC residents displaced by wildfire.
“Our hearts go out to the people that are affected by these evacuations. They’re really stressful on the families,” said Kimberley Nemrava, Red Cross VP for British Columbia/ Yukon. “Red Cross is proud to be part of that really big emergency management system in BC.
Over 3,000 people have been evacuated from their homes this summer and more than 560 wildfires continue to burn in BC. “The Government, through emergency social services is supporting people when they’re evacuated. It will depend on the funds that we are able to raise, but we’d be looking to support people as they re-enter and during that early recovery,” explained Nemrava.
Last year donations to the Canadian Red Cross, for BC fire relief, totalled more than 20 million dollars.
Another way to help in the future is to become a volunteer. There are currently 1400 Red Cross volunteers placed across the province. 800 of those are working with disaster management. Nemrava said, “If people have a longer-term commitment that they can make, and are actually interested in becoming one of our volunteers that are deployed during disasters, we are on a major recruitment drive.”
To find out more about volunteering visit a Red Cross office. To donate to the BC Fire Appeal visit and office, call 1-800-418-1111 or visit redcross.ca