Emergency evacuation routes and public-notification planning efforts for the Cariboo Chilcotin region are being infused with $89,850 from the province.
Williams Lake First Nation, in partnership with the Cariboo Regional District and the city of Williams Lake, are the recipients of the funding.
CRD chair Margo Wagner said egress routes always become an issue during emergencies.
“It’s important that we preplan this rather than wait until it happens and try and muddle through it,” she said. “Granting like this is really important and doing it in conjunction with WLFN and the city of Williams Lake just makes sense because we all live in one another’s backyards.”
Williams Lake Mayor Surinderpal Rathor expressed gratitude to the government for the funding.
“It will increase our community’s resiliency in emergencies and I am looking forward to collaborating with other levels of government,” Rathor said.
In announcing the funding, the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Change said 22 communities were receiving the funding for a total of $909,000.
The funds are from the Community Emergency Preparedness Fund (CEPF), which communities apply for.
WLFN declined comment saying it was early stages of the planning.
"As we face more severe weather events due to climate change, the safety of people remains the top priority," said Bowinn Ma, Minister of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness in a news release.
"Recent emergencies, such as wildfires and landslides, highlight how important it is that people have the information they need to evacuate safely. By investing in community evacuation route and public notification planning, we're helping ensure that local governments and First Nations have the tools they need to keep people safe during emergencies."
Nuxalk Nation in the Bella Coola Valley area was also successful in its application and will receive $30,000 toward developing an evacuation plan, creating emergency notification policies and improving web capacity.
Incorporating a Canadian earthquake early-warning system will also be a focus for the Nuxalk.
