Even as thousands return home to the Summerland-area, the mental scars related to the Bald Range wildfire could last a lifetime.
The Canadian Mental Health Association’s South Okanagan branch saw a noticeable uptick in foot traffic and service requests as up to 12-thousand people were living in Penticton for a week due to evacuation orders.
Sarah Hamid-Balma, the director of mental health promotion, told Vista Radio in an interview that some people can get anxious about getting evacuated as early as the spring, when they smell smoke from neighbouring communities.
“Even the smell of smoke and hearing evacuations from a nearby community can resurface a whole bunch of big emotions and not just for children, but people of all ages. That is what happens when trauma hits our bodies, it takes years usually for people to recover.”
She added the different types of mental health responses often vary from person to person.
“Our mental health responds to whether it’s a lot of fear, a lot of anxiety and a lot of stress, sadness and helplessness. It’s uncertainty that can also show up in your body with your physical health.”
“There is so much that people experience whenever there is a traumatic event and this is a traumatic event. There is an upheaval that goes with it too where people have very little information and a whole lot of uncertainty and a threat to their ongoing physical safety to them and their loved ones. It hits many stress points for people in what makes us the most afraid,” added Hamid-Balma.
Emotions ranging from anger to sadness and even numbness are quite common according to Hamid-Balma.
“We see everything and I think people need to expect to see everything. Sometimes it will be really intense in the first few days and weeks and sometimes it will show up later on once everything has calmed down and they don’t understand what is going on.”
“Any feeling is actually OK and expected. Many people feel numb and withdrawn, not feeling much of anything, which is also valid.”
Hamid-Balma noted people often suffer from Survivor’s Remorse while others pack up and start fresh, which often has a lasting impact on a community’s identity.
“Many people when they go back, can’t stay in that neighbourhood because of the memories that are still awful and they end up moving. The whole landscape of your neighbourhood changes and your social connection changes. The people that remain become isolated and disconnected – there is a whole range of these cascading effects.”
The Bald Range wildfire continues to burn at 21,256 hectares and is out of control.
B.C. Wildfire Service crews continue to respond on a 24-hour basis with 246 personnel on the front lines.
There are 13 aviation helicopters and 62 pieces of heavy equipment on-site along with 180 structure protection personnel.
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