When a wildfire broke out near Tseshaht’s main reserve on Aug. 6, elected Councillor Leisa Hassall says she could almost instantly smell the smoke.
“My house is actually 1.6 kilometres away,” said Hassall. “We have infrastructure that is close too, like the Maht Mahs (Gym), the NTC building and a few other buildings are all within less than two kilometres (of the fire).”
Thanks to the quick response from BC Wildfire, the Sproat Lake Volunteer Fire Department and Mosaic Forest Management, the wildfire was unofficially classified as ‘being held’ the same night it was reported.
“We ended up with three different bodies responding to this one fire, which is fantastic. As far as I know, Mosaic remained on site until it was unofficially classified as out,” said Tseshaht’s emergency program coordinator Kaitlin Minvielle.
“We are just so thankful as a nation. We really appreciate the firefighters and security team that acted so quickly,” Hassall re-iterated.
She urged Tseshaht members to be prepared as individual households for emergencies like wildfires and to understand local evacuation routes, which can be found on: https://www.acrd.bc.ca/emergency_preparedness.
“This event was a huge reminder for everyone to be prepared,” said Hassall. “We never knew what’s going to happen. We never knew what Mother Nature has in store. What’s different with the heat that continuously rises each year, we as Nuu-chah-nulth communities especially need to be prepared.”
This is the second year in a row a wildfire has burned land around Tseshaht’s main reserve. In addition to learning the evacuation routes, Minvielle recommends having grab-and-go bags and important documents ready.
“If you have pets, have pet food prepared and maybe extra water dishes,” she adds.
Hassall says Tseshaht has a strong collective team within the administration building that follows a process, depending on the scenario.
“We would have a team supporting elders, but one of the most important steps is for individuals to be prepared and to know their plan,” Hassall said.
The Aug. 6 wildfire was likely caused by humans. Shortly after the blaze broke out, Port Alberni RCMP arrested a 27-year-old woman in the area suspected to be responsible for the blaze.
“The housing crisis that we are in is unfortunate,” Hassall said about the arrest. “Tseshaht is making multiple steps towards housing initiatives for our members specifically. There are a lot of people struggling right now and this is a good reminder for community and our neighbours to be vigilant and report suspicious or unusual behaviour to the local authorities.”
Mosaic has a Wildfire Response Agreement with BC Wildfire Service, which means Mosaic has access to wildfire-fighting expertise and equipment, including aircraft.
“Mosaic can respond aggressively to wildfires on its private forest lands that might otherwise have adverse impacts on neighbouring communities. It’s a responsibility we take seriously,” Mosaic said in an email statement.
During wildfire season, the forest management company conducts daily aerial and ground-based surveillance in partnership with BC Wildfire, and also has 100 all-terrain fire trucks and fully stocked equipment caches in active areas throughout Mosaic lands.
