Frustrated wildfire evacuees from Summerland, B.C., say they are seeking out alternative sources of information about the fate of their community to fill an official void, even as authorities warn against the risk of misinformation.
They have been turning to photos and video posted online by people who stayed behind in the evacuated community on the shore of Okanagan Lake — including an e-bike rider who has been cruising through deserted and apparently undamaged streets.
Resident Kerry Gold said, though she doesn’t condone people risking their safety by staying behind, watching the e-bike rider, whose simple videos show him rolling through the smoky streets of Summerland, sometimes behind structure protection crews, “just makes you feel so much better.”
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“As somebody who was in the dark, who didn’t have a clue if our own home had survived, now he’s capturing all these images of the streets,” she said.
The rider did not immediately respond to a message seeking an interview.
Erick Thompson, the senior manager of communications for the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, acknowledged the evacuees’ frustrations.
He said Tuesday that he was hoping to get into Summerland’s downtown so he could show residents what’s there.
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Thompson, whose livestream updates on the situation have been a hit with residents, said he had asked to be granted access to the Summerland evacuation zone where 12,000 people once lived.
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“My goal today, I’ve put in a request, to see if there’s any way it’s safe for me to travel with one of our crew, with the proper preparedness, steps and PPE … to go into downtown Summerland,” he said on the livestream.
“Right on the main street, go in there very quickly, get some video, record some views of what downtown looks like, and then talk a bit more about what re-entry plans look like.”
The provincial government has said property damage from the Bald Range fire is significant. The blaze destroyed numerous homes and razed most of the tiny community of Faulder — but official damage assessments have yet to take place due to dangerous conditions.
In a statement Monday, the RCMP cautioned the public “against making false statements and to stop the continuation of misinformation on social media.” Forests Minister Ravi Parmar has issued similar warnings about the cause of the blaze, which the wildfire service said was undetermined.
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On Tuesday, the City of Penticton, where many evacuees had relocated, told residents to follow official sources for information and that it had no evacuation alerts or orders in place. It said, however, that conditions could change quickly for the community, which was covered by a thick layer of smoke.
But Gold said it wasn’t useful for authorities “to give us all a public spanking for spreading misinformation” by turning to social media.
Her husband, Mike Elsinga, said it was a relief when they first saw the e-biker’s video showing the downtown section of Summerland was intact.
“You get this contradiction of people saying only believe what we tell you, and then they don’t tell you anything,” he said.
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The couple, who are staying in Penticton, were critical of the public briefing officials held on Tuesday where Summerland Mayor Doug Holmes said the community’s residents won’t be going home any time soon, but residents should “brace ourselves” for what awaited them in the evacuation zone.
Gold said that without sourcing information elsewhere, residents could have easily left that meeting “thinking that the town had been decimated.”
Instead, she suggested, it would have been helpful for officials to provide a better idea of what areas had been impacted to curb some anxieties that persist as residents waited for the official assessment.
She said though there are some who spread conspiracy theories online, most people are seeking valid information about the impact of the deadly fire that has forced thousands out of their homes along the western shores of Okanagan Lake in British Columbia’s southern Interior.
“I’m shocked at how little leadership there is, how little guidance, how little information. You’re kind of — you’re left to your own devices. That is shocking to me,” she said.
“I’m talking about the politicians, the bureaucrats — the people who should be there, not the guys who are literally at the front lines. Those guys are obviously doing an amazing job [and] thank God for them.”
She suggested the need for a liaison officer whose job would be focused on providing timely updates to the public in the same way Dr. Bonnie Henry, the provincial health officer, did during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Emergency Management Minister Kelly Green told a briefing on Tuesday that the lack of information was partly about wanting to “contact people responsibly.”
“I wouldn’t want someone to find out their home had been lost on TV or on social media,” she said, adding that it was district authorities’ responsibility to conduct rapid damage assessment when it was safe.
