B.C. mayor decries `insensitive' fire videos
Warns residents in wildfire-ravaged area not to share images of destroyed homes
The mayor of a northeast British Columbia community threatened by wildfires is warning people who stayed behind in the evacuation zone to stay on their properties and not share images of fire destruction on social media.
Northern Rockies Regional Municipality Mayor Rob Fraser says it's “insensitive” and “unconscionable” that images of properties destroyed by the Parker Lake wildfire outside Fort Nelson have been shared before owners were told of the damage by authorities.
Fraser's comments came after videos were posted on social media showing what appear to be multiple homes destroyed outside Fort Nelson.
The Facebook videos posted this week show large structures reduced to grey ash and twisted metal, scorched vehicles, and tall trees blackened by the side of the road.
One video posted Wednesday appears to show firefighters working to protect another home, with smoke shrouding the road.
Fraser says people who stayed behind after Fort Nelson was ordered evacuated on May 10 need to register with authorities to make sure they are part of the co-ordinated firefighting effort.
He says the law requires those not registered to stay on their properties to avoid diverting police
resources away from other necessary duties.
“The law says those people, if they're not part of the effort (to fight fires), they need to be staying on their properties if they didn't evacuate when there's an evacuation order,” Fraser said Friday.
“The RCMP don't know these people, one from the next, unless it's a fire vehicle, and so they end up stopping somebody in a private vehicle when they should be out there looking for looters and checking properties. It's just distracting from their ability to do what we've asked them to do to secure the community.”
Rainy weather in and around Fort Nelson has aided the fight against both the Parker Lake fire burning 2.5 kilometres west of the town and the Patry Creek holdover blaze 25 kilometres to the north of the community of about 4,700 residents.
Evan Peck with the BC Wildfire Service said a low-pressure system brought much-needed rain on Wednesday and Thursday, along with cooler temperatures and lower humidity, making for “excellent” conditions for fire suppression efforts.
In a video posted by the service late Thursday, the fire-behaviour specialist said there had been minimal growth of the Parker Lake fire, which forced the entire community to flee as strong winds fanned the advancing flames.