Fortis plan to reduce wildfire risk across Southern Interior raises other safety concerns – Okanagan

FortisBC will be implementing a new initiative for the 2025 wildfire season in an effort to reduce wildfire risk.

But as the “Public Safety Power Shutoff” initiative aims to decrease the chance of wildfires, it’s raising other safety concerns.

“It sounds like a good idea, you know, I still have a few questions,” said Princeton mayor Spencer Coyne.

Princeton is among 10 communities in the Southern Interior where the plan is being implemented for the 2025 wildfire season.

They include Princeton, Midway, Greenwood, Beaverdell, Christian Valley, Westbridge, Rock Creek, Cawston, Keremeos, and Hedley.

The communities were deemed “high-risk” for wildfires by Fortis.

The initiative will see Fortis cut off power in the mentioned communities, if warranted,  during extreme weather events.

“When you have very high winds, high heat, low humidity and tinder-dry vegetation, we will reach out to local emergency services and make a decision whether we need to turn off power,” said Gary Toft, senior adviser of corporate communications with Fortis.

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The power outage would prevent branches and trees from falling onto live power lines and igniting.

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“We’re asking folks to be prepared,” Toft said. “So make sure you have a backup plan in case of a power outage … for lighting, for staying cool, for preparing food. Make sure you have an emergency kit.”

While no one wants to see wildfire destruction, Fortis’ plan is being met with concerns as residents could lose power for several days.

A staff report presented to the Regional District of Kootenay Boundary (RDKB)  board on Wednesday states, “Emergency Management staff are concerned that the health and safety of residents are being put at risk.”

The report adds, “Many locations identified as cooling centres for extreme heat events do not have backup power generation”

The Regional District of Okanagan Similkameen (RDOS) echoed the sentiment, telling Global News, “it shares many of the concerns.”

“We’re talking to emergency services,” Toft said. “We’re in the process of implementing this so people, people have questions, people have concerns, we want to hear that feedback, because that’s important and how we implement this.”

Fortis will be holding two public information sessions including one in Greenwood (Greenwood Community Hall)  on May 14 and the other in Keremeos (Victory Hall) on May 15.

Both are scheduled fr0m 4 p.m. until 7 p.m.

The company will also hold a virtual public open house on May 22 to provide more information.

“After speaking with them (Fortis), they put a lot of my, you know, uneasiness at rest,” Coyne said “It’s only going to be in certain circumstances, and it’s not going to be like weekly, or anything like that. It’s strictly to prevent something like California, or you know other places, from happening here.”

For more information on the Public Safety Power Shutoff initiative or information on how to prepare for a power outage, you can go to the FortisBC website.

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