INFORMATION BULLETIN

2009PSSG0006-000189 August 2, 2009

Ministry of Public Safety and Solicitor General

 

PROVINCE AND RED CROSS LAUNCH FIRE INFORMATION LINE

 

VICTORIA – To provide additional support to local governments managing fires in the Central Okanagan, the Province is partnering with the Canadian Red Cross to operate a fire information line for some of the most notable interface forest fires happening throughout British Columbia. An interface fire is one that is impacting, or has the immediate potential to impact, people or structures.

 

 The information line will be activated immediately and will provide information on the following major fires:

·        Terrace Mountain

·        Back Valley

·        Mount McLean

·        Yalakom Valley

·        Eight km south of Brookmere

 

The toll-free line will initially operate from 7 a.m. until 11 p.m. daily. The hours of operation will be extended or shortened as required. The fire information number is 1-888-350-6070.

 

The call centre will be based out of the Red Cross B.C. Disaster Response Centre in Burnaby. This state-of-the-art facility holds the TELUS Red Cross Call Centre, which is capable of running 44 call lines and handling up to 10,000 calls a day. TELUS donated the cutting-edge call-centre technology to the Red Cross. The Province will cover costs associated with this service such as long distance charges and meals for Red Cross volunteers working the phone lines.

 

Canadian Red Cross volunteers will operate phone lines at the call centre and answer questions from the public. Red Cross volunteers have also been on the ground since the onset of the West Kelowna Fires – supplying cots, blankets and hygiene kits at reception centres, as well as providing recovery needs assessments.

 

The Provincial Emergency Program works year-round with local governments to prepare for emergencies. For more information on how you and your family can get prepared, visit www.pep.bc.ca.

 

For current information on the forest fires in British Columbia, visit www.bcwildfire.ca. For current highway and road information, visit www.drivebc.ca.

 

For more information on the Canadian Red Cross, visit www.redcross.ca.

 

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Contact:

Public Information Officer Provincial Emergency Program 250 952-5560

Communications Advisor Canadian Red Cross 604 839-8941

 

For more information on government services or to subscribe to the Province’s news feeds using RSS, visit the Province’s website at www.gov.bc.ca.