Community Conversation - Bush Creek East Wildfire
Squilax Mountain - Photo Credit Darla Miller
CSRD Release
The Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) wants to hear from community members about their experiences during the Bush Creek East Wildfire. We are hosting a series of community conversations, in-person and online, to listen to our community and share information.
The in-person and online events will be facilitated by an independent consulting company, Monogram Communications. This group will collect and communicate information and report to the Board in a publicly available What We Heard report.
Why is this happening now? We are undertaking this exercise now so that we can implement some, but likely not all, suggestions for improvement for the 2024 fire season. Some changes might be easy to put in place, others might take longer.
The CSRD is committed to continuous improvement and this feedback is a very important piece of doing that.
These conversations can help the CSRD team to:
Learn how people received information during the wildfire.
Share information about the role of CSRD during an emergency.
Hear your feedback on how things were managed.
Gather information to improve the CSRD’s preparedness for future incidents.
Offer resources including FireSmart tips and personal preparedness tools.
We recognize that there are valid community concerns regarding rebuilding, environmental damage and geotechnical hazards. These concerns are not the focus of this engagement process, which is designed to look back at last year's wildfire experience. Moving forward, some of these ongoing issues will be addressed later on by the CSRD or other agencies.
How can I be involved? Attend one of our session to share your thoughts.
Thursday, March 7, 2024, 6 PM - 8 PM at Sorrento Memorial Hall, 1150 Passchendaele Road, Sorrento
Saturday, March 9, 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM at North Shuswap Elementary School, 5295 Squilax - Anglemont Road, Celista
Sunday, March 10, 2:30 PM - 4:30 PM at Lakeview Community Centre, 7703 Squilax - Anglemont Road, Anglemont
Monday, March 11, 6 PM - 8 PM at Quaaout Lodge, 1663 Little Shuswap Lake Road
Wednesday, March 13, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM Virtual session
Thursday, March 14, 6:30 PM - 8:30 PM Virtual session
What's next? Please register at https://csrd.civilspace.io/en/ if you plan on attending an event. This is to help us ensure we have enough space in the hall, refreshments and materials for you. Attendance at these events will not be limited, as long as we have capacity in the venue.
We also have a short survey that we would appreciate you filling out to gather more details about your thoughts on this summer’s wildfire season and its effects on you and your family. The survey can be filled out anonymously and must be submitted before the end of the day on March 17.
Squilax Mountain February 2024 (Scoop photo)
