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Joint Indigenous and Local Government Initiatives and Relations
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Floods, fires and the future: How 3 communities are moving forward after climate disasters
Safety and stability were threatened over and over last summer as B.C. experienced wildfires and floods that destroyed communities and took lives...
Three communities, Logan Lake, the Nicomen Indian Band and Spius Creek, were all impacted by climate disasters in 2021 but have had distinct responses and are moving forward in their own ways...
There's only one road in and out of the Nicomen Indian Band reserve, a steep, gravel road that meets up with a bridge, which was washed out by flooding in November, leaving the community cut off.
They had evacuated earlier that summer as the fire that destroyed Lytton neared and couldn't return until six weeks later. When the floods came, Chief Norman Drynock said his people, in particular some elders, didn't want to leave. "Not knowing what could happen once we left, what we would be at the mercy of out there, whereas here we were in our own homes. We had water, we had electricity, and we had enough food to last for a while," he said.
Drynock says they're preparing ahead of the summer by making sure they have enough gas to use if they get cut off again, as well as a stockpile of food and other essential supplies.
He says he's proud of his community for getting through it and feels comfortable with whatever the future brings.