The City of Enderby thanks its residents and businesses for doing their part in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. It is a difficult time for everybody, and we encourage you to continue to find ways to stay socially connected, to reach out to those who may need help or comfort, and enjoy the great outdoors while observing public health orders and guidance.
The City of Enderby Emergency Operations Centre remains activated at Level 1. The EOC is active for response to the pandemic emergency and advance planning for flooding and wildfire potential.
The City’s Emergency Dashboard can be bookmarked at www.cityofenderby.com/emergency. Emergency updates, notices on closures, and other information on topics like preparation and recovery will be posted here first.
Did you know that May 3-9 is Emergency Preparedness Week in BC? This is a great time to turn our attention to how we approach emergencies at the individual and household level. Plan ahead – if an emergency hits, you will feel ready and more in control of the situation if you are already prepared. Preparedness tips will be shared out through the Province at https://twitter.com/PreparedBC and https://www.facebook.com/PreparedBC/.
Pandemic
The EOC is continuing its pandemic response measures while shifting into recovery planning.
Recovery planning normally begins during response. Recovery does not mean that everything opens up just like it was before. Recovery means that we plan for when and how we open City facilities in a responsible and reasonable way, as well as how we resume City services that may have been curtailed during the emergency. Recovery also means how we support individual and business resilience, as we develop community-specific measures to help transition to the next phase.
For City facilities, the following principles will be used to inform our recovery plans:
- Clear guidance from a health officer that it is reasonably safe to resume the service, and the basis on which it may be resumed;
- A risk assessment of the service to ensure that we can provide for the safety of workers and the public in accordance with the guidelines of a health officer; and
- An analysis of industry stakeholder positions (such as Destination BC and the BC Recreation and Parks Association) as well as comparison to neighbouring jurisdictions.
For the broader community recovery, a Pandemic Community Recovery Select Committee has been created by Council to provide advice and recommendations on how to support individual and business resiliency as we try to find our “new normal.”
In advance of the Committee’s work, Council has also approved a set of financial decisions to help out taxpayers. For information on those decisions, please refer to the Council Meeting Decision Summary for May 4, 2020.
Unlike any other event in recent history, the COVID-19 emergency response has truly been an “all-of-society” response. Please download this updated list of Provincial Supports for more information on the ways in which the Government of BC is assisting individuals, families, and businesses during this time.
Flooding
The EOC is advance planning for potential flooding.
Advance planning involves monitoring river and weather forecasts. We are also evaluating for how the pandemic emergency may impact flood response efforts, which has triggered some new guidelines from Emergency Management BC as well as increased attention towards how communities are responding where the flood season has already started.
The river level projections for the next 10 days shows a slow increase from today’s flow rate of 164.8 m3/second to 195.2 m3/second on May 14. The Shuswap River is not at risk of flooding in Enderby in the immediate future, as it currently has a lot of capacity to accept upstream flows. However, areas near to smaller streams and creeks will be at higher risk of flooding earlier. This forecast could change suddenly with increased temperatures and/or precipitation (note that there is 15-20mm of rain forecast for Wednesday).
The City has sand and sandbags available outside the Public Works Yard at 2308 McGowan Street. Property owners are responsible for protecting their property, and we encourage you to take appropriate measures in advance if your property may be at risk.
Be sure to download the new Flooding Preparedness Guide, which is a good resource to get your household ready. During a flood, emotions and stress levels can run high, so if you can plan ahead, it will give you a head-start in responding to a flood emergency.
Wildfire
The fire ban remains in effect, as follows:
- Category 2 open fires;
- Category 3 open fires;
- Resource Management open fires;
- the use of fireworks;
- the use of sky lanterns; and
- the use of burn barrels or burn cages of any size or description (except when used for a campfire*).
*Note that the City of Enderby Good Neighbour Bylaw provides additional regulations for campfires and outdoor fireplaces which must be followed if you live within the City. The City also has a permit system for open burning; all permit holders must not open burn during the ban.
BC Wildfire Service has announced a new mobile app that includes information on active fires and statistics, as well as open burning prohibitions, and much more. Please download it to stay updated on what is happening on the wildfire front:
Concluding Thought
Emergency Management in BC is based on four pillars: preparedness, mitigation, response, and recovery. A strong community is resilient across all four pillars.
The same could be said for individuals and households – try organizing your personal and household goals based on these same pillars to gain more control over how an emergency may impact you. But be sure to add one extra pillar: “time for myself.” Garden, walk, read, talk, game, paint – find ways to do the things that matter to you, even if you do them a little differently than before.