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Welcome to RecoverShuswap.ca
Welcome to RecoverShuswap.ca

Recover Shuswap Information

The Bush Creek East Wildfire began in early July 2023 and forced the evacuation of more than 8,000 people from eight communities in the Shuswap region. The Columbia Shuswap Regional District has staff and resources to assist residents impacted by the wildfire, especially those who suffered property damage or loss. The links on this page will be updated regularly to provide the latest information to answer your questions and help residents recover from this wildfire event.

Community Conversations

April 12, 2024

The What We Heard report generated by an independent consulting firm following community conversation events hosted by the Columbia Shuswap Regional District (CSRD) in March is now available for public review.

In March, the CSRD conducted feedback sessions with residents including four in-person meetings in Sorrento, Anglemont, Celista and at Quaaout Lodge, along with two online sessions. A survey with more than 400 participants was also used to allow residents an opportunity to share their experiences with last summer’s Bush Creek East Wildfire.

The engagement efforts were designed to hear from as many residents as possible to provide valuable information and ideas for how the CSRD can improve its emergency response efforts.

Monogram Communications conducted the sessions, with representatives of the CSRD involved, to ensure this report is an accurate reflection of the feedback.

The report is now available for the public to read. It can be found in the Reports section of the CSRD website under the Emergency Management Reports tab, as well as on the agenda for the April 18, 2024 Regular Board Meeting.

The report will be presented to CSRD Directors at next week’s meeting for review and discussion.

“We know the community was anxious to share their thoughts, and we appreciate that so many residents took the time to share,” says John MacLean, Chief Administrative Officer.

“Having recently received the report ourselves, it has a lot of information to review. We are spending some time at a staff level to digest what was heard and to look at how those learnings can be incorporated into our emergency plans.”

A key part of the Community Conversations process is to share the information from the What We Heard report with the CSRD’s agency partners, including the BC Wildfire Service, the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Change, the RCMP, and numerous others.

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March 19, 2024
We have now wrapped up our in-person and online Bush Creek East Wildfire Community Conversations, with an overwhelming response. The CSRD wants to hear from community members about their experiences during the Bush Creek East Wildfire. We had 200+ people come out to four events, 50+ at the virtual sessions and received more than 400 surveys.

For those who might have missed it, here’s a video of the presentation on March 14, 2024.

We thank all those who participated and shares their stories, ideas and suggestions for improvement.

This information will be analyzed by the consultant, Monogram Communications, and formulated into an independent What We Heard report, which will be presented to the Board and made publicly available in April.

 

 

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