'The situation started to become critical fast': Up to 22,000 people evacuated from region
A fast-moving British Columbia wildfire forced the helicopter evacuation of dozens of temporary foreign workers last week.
The Bald Range wildfire, first reported the evening of Aug. 7, grew to roughly 155 to 156 square kilometres within days, forcing an estimated 20,000 to 22,000 people from Summerland, Peachland and surrounding communities, according to reports.
B.C. Premier David Eby declared a provincial state of emergency as the fire advanced.
Workers airlifted to safety
A crew of temporary foreign worker cherry pickers was working in an orchard in Meadow Valley, northwest of Summerland, when the fire cut off their only road out, CBC News reported.
"The situation started to become critical fast. In about 40 minutes since we had notice, we had to move out of there," worker Alex Ledesma told CBC News.
Erick Thompson, an emergency official with the Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen, said the fire was one of the "quickest-moving, fastest-growing" his region had seen, CBC reported. At least 55 people were airlifted out in the area. Separately, Erin Carlson of Carcajou Fruit Company told The Canadian Press that 30 of the company's workers were evacuated by helicopter after road access was severed.
Employer obligations under scrutiny
Under the Temporary Foreign Worker Program (TFWP), employers must maintain emergency action plans covering all workers, including temporary foreign nationals, and ensure they receive safety instructions, evacuation transport and access to provincial emergency support.
The Employment and Social Development Canada (ESDC) says employers and temporary foreign workers taking part in the program must have an updated evacuation plan and:
- follow municipal, provincial or territorial evacuation orders
- know their local evacuation routes and procedures
- maintain a contact plan between employers and temporary foreign workers.
Migrant worker Julio Senties told CBC News he was given roughly 20 minutes' notice to pack an emergency bag with his documents and passport before evacuating. He later learned his employer-provided lodging had been destroyed.
Senties said his employer has offered to send some crew members back to Mexico a week early because of the ongoing fire danger, CBC reported.
Wildfire continues to threaten region
Penticton RCMP confirmed an 80-year-old woman died while attempting to flee the fire with her family, CBC News reported. B.C. Forests Minister Ravi Parmar offered condolences to her family and described the extreme conditions that night.
"We could have put 1,000 more helicopters and 1,000 more people on the ground, and it wouldn't have made a difference," Parmar said, according to CBC News.
