Volunteers needed to accept evacuees
Horses are led out of harm's way from Glenrosa in West Kelowna.
Email
Print
Letter to Editor
Share
Updated: July 21, 2009 1:42 PM
The evacuation centre on the Westside needs volunteers.
Operations manager Linda Keil estimates some 75 people have come through the doors to help, but they definitely need more hands on deck.
“Most of them are people who volunteered in the 2003 fires and they’ve come back to help,” she said.
Three young men arrived at Royal LePage Place at 1 p.m. and were immediately put to work; it’s the kind of scene that has been happening all day.
“We are having to train people as we go,” Keil said. “But that’s OK.”
Next door at Mount Boucherie Secondary School volunteers are just being posted as the gym fills up with bedding.
Some 4000 people registered with emergency services last night and, though new numbers are not yet available for today, Keil said the line-ups have not stopped and are likely getting longer.
“Anyone who has been evacuated must register,” Keil said, noting it’s vital to the operation.
Those who may have left to stay with friends last night are asked to keep a careful watch on the evacuation lists and call in if their neighbourhood is on the list.
The number to call is 778-797-2269 to register.
Out of town friends or family may be looking for those who live in the evacuated areas and they have begun to call in to emergency services in effort to make sure the person they’re looking for is safe.
To volunteer, head to the Mount Boucherie Complex and go into the Royal LePage Place. Volunteers are on hand to point residents who come to help out in the right direction.
jsmith@kelownacapnews.com
v2
