Geocache event cancelled
Due to the continuing threat of evacuations and the constantly changing fire situation, the Gold Country Communities Society has decided to delay the fifth annual “Cache for Gold” geocache event that was scheduled for early September 2017.
The event is being moved to the spring of 2018, and a new date will be released in early 2018.
Recreation site and trail restrictions
The provincial government is strongly recommending that people stay completely out of the backcountry within the Kamloops, Cariboo, and Southeast fire centres. The public is advised not to visit recreation sites or trails in these fire centres.
Many of these sites and trails have been closed because of the wildfire risk. For a complete list of current closures, visit http://www.sitesandtrailsbc.ca/closures.aspx.
Help for businesses
Community Futures Sun Country (CFSC) says that the organization has heard from some businesses in the region that they have been impacted by the wildfires.
CFSC is working with the BC Economic Development Association (BCEDA), as well as the federal and provincial governments, in trying to secure support for affected businesses. However, CFSC notes that if they are going to negotiate on a business’s behalf, the business owner first needs to phone the hotline set up by the BCEDA and tell them of the challenges they are facing. To date CFSC has had little response.
Businesses are encouraged to call the BCEDA hotline (open Monday to Friday from 7 a.m. to 8 p.m.) at 1-877-422-3377. Business owners will be asked questions that will help identify the business’s, and the community’s, short- and long-term needs.
The call takes 10 to 15 minutes, and the hotline is open to all business owners in areas impacted by the wildfires, whether they and their community were evacuated or not.
Billing relief from FortisBC
To help support customers who have been impacted by wildfires, FortisBC is providing billing relief for approximately 12,000 natural gas and 2,400 electricity customers who experienced evacuation orders this summer.
On August 25, FortisBC received approval from the BC Utilities Commission to provide a credit for charges incurred during the period customers were under evacuation orders. FortisBC has also paused collection-related activities for customers in these regions, including calls to customers to remind them of outstanding amounts, and is waiving late payment charges on impacted accounts.
To make sure the billing relief process is simple, eligible customers will automatically receive a credit for the evacuation period on an upcoming bill. The FortisBC billing and customer service systems teams are working to cross-reference billing data with evacuation information received from municipalities, the Province, and its operations team.
Customers can contact FortisBC if they have concerns about their bills or their services. The company is willing to work with customers on the specific circumstances affecting their account, and work with them, if needed, on flexible payment arrangements on any previous or ongoing charges.
Customers with questions or concerns about their bill or their service are encouraged to contact FortisBC at 1-888-224-2710 (natural gas) or 1-866-436-7847 (electricity).
BC Wildfire Economic Impact surveys being carried out
Local destination marketing organizations are seeking information on the economic impact of the current wildfire situation on tourism businesses.
The input from businesses will provide the provincial government with a comprehensive overview of the effects on businesses in both directly affected and unaffected areas. If you work in, or operate, a business in the Thompson-Okanagan region, you can take the survey at http://bit.ly/2tT5R1K.
Please share the survey with colleagues and encourage them to complete it as well, in order to provide the most insight.
Beers for trees
Pacific Western Brewing (PWB) is raising funds in order to plant thousands of trees in the Interior next spring, in the wake of the devastating wildfires this year which have destroyed hundreds of thousands of hectares of land, and the trees that stood there.
From September 1 to 30, PWB is dedicating 25 cents from every six-pack of their Cariboo products sold to help the province grow back from this summer’s wildfires.
The brewery has contracted with Summit Reforestation, and by the end of this month hopes to have sold enough six-packs to begin planting thousands of trees in the Interior—where the loss of forest land was most acute—in the spring of 2018.
The “Cariboo Cares” campaign will run throughout the month. Kazuko Komatsu, owner of PWB, says he has always believed the brewery should “invest where we live. The reforestation program is one of my core commitments to the community.”
ICBC
As the wildfires continue throughout the province, ICBC remains committed to its customers by providing flexible and expedient service related to this situation.
ICBC has received 124 insurance claims related to the fires so far. Most vehicle damage claims were related to extreme heat and smoke damage, with some vehicles even rendered as total losses. These claims have cost ICBC approximately $500,000 to date.
Recognizing that B.C. is experiencing the worst wildfire season in the province’s history, ICBC has also made the following formal changes to its policies to reflect these special circumstances for customers on evacuation alert:
Customers whose ICBC comprehensive insurance coverage has recently expired will still be able to purchase this coverage in most situations. Contact your local Autoplan broker for more details.
Customers who already have, or have previously purchased, ICBC optional coverage, or who have never insured a vehicle in B.C., will be able to purchase full ICBC optional coverage for their newly acquired vehicle.
“Our goal is to be as responsive as possible to our customers who are caught in these unfortunate situations,” said Mark Blucher, ICBC’s president and CEO.
“We have insurance and claims experts who are focused on responding to our customers’ needs and supporting our brokers under these trying circumstances.”
ICBC’s Autoplan broker partners are available to serve customers, while ICBC will continue to review all claims on a case-by-case basis and make every effort to expedite wildfire claims. Customers with a fire claim can simply file their claim online or call ICBC’s customer service centre at 1-800-663-3051.