Where there’s smoke, there’s not always fire.
North Shore Emergency Management is warning residents they may see some frightening sights coming from the trees next week but it’s just a simulation and exercise in fighting forest fires.
Multiple agencies will be conducting a mock evacuation of two neighbourhoods, setting up a command post, using simulated smoke and using helicopters to bucket water in a simulation called Operation Dry Lightning.
“People should not be alarmed,” said Fiona Dercole, North Shore Emergency Management director. “It’s only practice. We do expect some calls to 911 and we’ve let dispatch know that this is an exercise.”
Most of the action will be happening in the forested area near Cypress Falls Park in West Vancouver and Kilmer Creek Park in North Vancouver.
On Tuesday, police and bylaw officers from the municipalities will conduct a mock evacuation in those neighbourhoods, going door to door, letting people know what they should be doing in the event of the real thing and distributing some materials on what they can do to help prevent forest fires.
After the exercise, Dercole said all the agencies will get together and compare notes on what went well, and what would need to go better in the event of an actual fire.
NSEM is bracing for another hot and dry summer with high fire risk, Dercole said, a consequence of climate change in this part of the world.
In August 2018, a wildfire near Whyte Lake above Horseshoe Bay grew to three hectares in size and took four days to extinguish.
