“We have to make sure we are taking care of one another,”
Those are the words of Stikine MLA Nathan Cullen regarding the wildfire situation in the province, especially in the northwest.
According to the BC Wildfire Service, there are 325 wildfires burning in BC, 82 of which are in the northwest fire centre.
In an interview with Vista Radio, Cullen stated with the Province experiencing Level 4 drought conditions, everybody has to do their part.
“These drought conditions are incredibly bad. We are a month, almost two months ahead of the usual drought cycle and folks got to know when the water restrictions are on and when we are asking people to conserve, it is for a reason. We aren’t seeing anywhere near the rain.”
“We know the drought conditions came on really strong in the last 30 days, we all see the weather outside – that leading to then the series of thunderstorms and lightning strikes that have been significant across the northwest and across the whole process has led us to the state we are in right now.”
He added the complexion of the fire season changed a lot in a short amount of time.
“Even a few weeks ago or more, we saw that the snowpack levels that looked normal six weeks ago were dropping so fast and that we knew the weather patterns coming in is El Nino so that has an effect on our weather patterns as well.”
From a leadership standpoint, Cullen aims to bridge any information gaps and to keep local leaders, First Nations, and residents as updated to date as possible on what is considered a fluid situation that seems to be changing by the hour.
Simply put, Cullen wants to be a difference maker and not someone looking for a photo op during this difficult time.
“I sometimes personally hesitate to go bother the crews and go to the emergency centres and stick my nose in. I will pop by with coffee and support, those kinds of things but mostly I stay out of there way. They have an important job to do. Where I can help is in talking to mayors, local leaders, regional districts – connecting people when they don’t have the information.”
Earlier this week, a provincial state of emergency was issued for the Stikine Region.