Wildfire anniversary approaching

Amanda Jeffery
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter

The Buck Creek Wildfire was an unforgettable event for residents of Drayton Valley and Brazeau County. On May 4, 2023 Drayton Valley residents and many Brazeau County residents were forced to evacuate the community and now the Town has put together a workshop to help those who are struggling with the upcoming anniversary.

Hans van Klaveren, the General Manager of Community and Recreation Services, says the Wildfire and Disaster Stress and Preparedness workshop, which will be held at the MacKenzie Conference Centre on April 29, is open to anyone who wants to attend.

“We want to have people get together to talk about their feelings and to talk about the impacts the Wildfire had on them,” says Van Klaveren.

Van Klaveren says there will be specialists at both the 2 p.m. and 6:30 p.m. sessions, including Alberta Health Care and Fire Services. Along with presentations, one on one sessions with individuals will also be available for those who want it.

The Town also wants to inform the community about the steps they have taken to be more prepared for future emergencies.

“We want to talk a little bit about our ICS [Incident Command Structure] training for staff members,” says van Klaveren. “We had sessions with industry earlier as well.”

He says Town staff have been taking additional training to help implement the ICS should it ever be needed.

Another component of the workshop is to talk about fire safety and ways that homeowners can make their property Fire Smart.

Van Klaveren says that while many people have already seen some information about Alberta Fire Smart, reviewing it again may be helpful. They will also be showing the Igniting Awareness media campaign videos that Drayton Valley/Brazeau County Fire Services has been posting.

“People can ask questions about how we are preparing this year for a potential disaster,” says van Klaveren.

Currently, Brazeau County is under a Fire Restriction, which means there is a high to very high risk of fire and that if a fire does ignite it may become serious and difficult to control if not successfully contained in its early stages.

Van Klaveren says the Buck Creek Wildfire is out, but there are other fires across the province that are starting up again.

“The conditions that we have right now are similar to the ones we were seeing last year, with the drought being one of the bigger problems,” he says. “Weather conditions are not in the same place they were last year.”

He says the Town is feeling confident that they are more prepared if there is another fire. Staff have undergone lots of training, and there has been more engagement with educating the public and addressing concerns.

“We don’t foresee it as a recurring situation, but we are still better prepared than we were last year,” says van Klaveren.

Amanda Jeffery
Local Journalism Initiative Reporter
Drayton Valley and District Free Press