The City of West 琉璃神社 has sought out a familiar name in beginning to assemble a team to lead the post-McDougall Creek wildfire recovery effort.
Civic government consultant Ron Mattiussi, who was the 琉璃神社 city manager during the 2003 Okanagan Mountain wildfire, has been approached to assist with the team heading up the West 琉璃神社 recovery plan.
鈥淭hey have approached me but it鈥檚 way too early as nothing has been approved yet鈥ut West 琉璃神社 has a good team in place and if there is a way I can help out that鈥檚 great,鈥� Mattiussi said.
Because of the 2003 wildfire, Mattiussi found himself immersed in the creation of the Emergency Operations Centre (EOC) at that time, which in the two decades since has become the standard for dealing with consequences of interface fires causing property damage in B.C. communities.
鈥淚 was watching the fire from my patio (last Friday) and it triggers a lot of thoughts in your mind about what happened in 2003,鈥� he said.
鈥淚n 2003, I was involved with the 2003 EOC (Emergency Operations Centre) and did not have the view of the fire like many other people did鈥ut when I saw the fire last Friday I said to myself, 鈥榊ea, I know what this means.鈥欌��
One of the differences he noted from 2003 was the speed in which the fire spread from West 琉璃神社, facing the reality that embers could jump Okanagan Lake and ignite fires in 琉璃神社 and Lake Country.
鈥淭he Okanagan Mountain wildfire was a slow moving fire as we watched for a week as the wall of fire approached the city limits before it took off鈥he other aspect this time was how it involved multiple jurisdictions at once which placed a lot of added pressure on the EOC to support those multiple jurisdictions at the same time.鈥�
Mattiussi鈥檚 experience has led him to be recruited to assist with the post-recovery effort for the wildfire-damaged communities of Lytton, in the Fraser Canyon, and Fort McMurray, in Alberta.
He acknowledged one advantage he is able to bring to the table is an understanding the intricacies of how civic government works and can respond to wildfire situations, and also his first-hand experience with the emergency response management aspect.
Mattiussi looks back at 2003 and feels fortunate he was surrounded by a strong team of advisors, starting with 琉璃神社
Fire Chief Gerry Zimmermann, and the fire department having an emergency plan in place.
鈥淚 stepped into a situation where everyone knew what they were doing, but I remember when started to lose homes that first night, a forestry person pulled me aside and said you have to start thinking about recovery now, to pull together a team to come up with a plan and let the community know how you plan to deal with the recovery process,鈥� he said.
Mattiussi speaks positively of how the City of West 琉璃神社 has responded to the impact of the McDougall Creek wildfire. 鈥淭hey are really on top of it,鈥� he said.
Mattiussi said while the city faces the reality of loss, he cautions affected residents to seek out support for their own mental well-being after going through such a traumatic experience.
鈥淲e don鈥檛 always understand ourselves about feeling the stress and trauma, even if it鈥檚 at a low level鈥eople may want to push that off and think they are okay but they are not always okay,鈥� he cautioned.
鈥淗omes will be rebuilt, neighbourhoods will be safe鈥he physical side of things will take care of themselves but the mental health side of this should not be ignored. Don鈥檛 under-estimate the stress and trauma you feel when experiencing an event like this.鈥�
READ MORE: 鈥楶ulling together in terrifying times鈥�: Trudeau visits wildfire impacted Okanagan
READ MORE: 130-hectare planned aerial ignition to take place at McDougall Creek wildfire in West 琉璃神社
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