Note: The following appeal is now closed. You can support our ongoing work by donating to the Canadian Red Cross
From the outside, Barriere Secondary School looks just like any other high school. As the final bell rings, students mill about the parking lot or stand together in small groups, while another group enjoys a pick-up game on the soccer field. On the surface, everything appears quite normal-you can't tell that these youth are dealing with the aftermath of one of the biggest natural disasters in Canadian history.
As thousands of evacuees in the Okanagan return to their homes--and those without homes begin to consider their options on the long road to recovery--Red Cross workers from as far afield as Ontario have left the comforts of home to help in British Columbia.
One month after a wildfire blazed into Barriere, B.C., life is beginning to look almost normal. Kids returned to school on schedule on September 2. Businesses – those that survived the evacuations and power outages – are operating, and the atmosphere is that life is carrying on in this small town that will be forever changed.
As Canadians watched forest fires blaze across TV screens, families in Kelowna, B.C. were either evacuated or helping those who were. The city pulled together as perhaps never before, and the buzz phrase was “people are good.”.
Case Statement - Helping victims of B.C. forest fires
Major forest fires in British Columbia’s interior and northern regions have resulted in the evacuation of as many as 8,500 residents and the declaration of a state of emergency.
Local Donor Gives $20,000 to Help Evacuees of BC Fires
Thousands of evacuees from the BC fires can rest assured they have a friend in Vancouver. An anonymous individual donated $20,000 through the Canadian Red Cross yesterday to help families recover from the devastating effects of fires that have forced them from their homes.
Red Cross responds to B.C. forest fires
Raging forest fires that have forced thousands of people from their homes have triggered Canadian Red Cross disaster response operations in British Columbia.
Forest Fires
The Canadian Red Cross is playing several roles in the response to the British Columbia forest fires that have driven thousands from their homes, and continue to threaten more communities.