World Environment Day 2022: A Multicultural Awareness Event For Best Practises, Preparedness And Planning For Fire & Floods

This event was organized by a multi-faith and multiracial coalition to raise awareness of the role of climate change in causing more extreme weather events, as well as best practices from the firefighters and other first responders in dealing with them.

The summer wildfires and the fall flooding, both of which claimed lives in British Columbia, are among the world’s most destructive climate catastrophes this year.

The 2021 wildfire season in British Columbia was the third worst on record in terms of area burned, with over 1,600 fires scorching approximately 8,700 square kilometres of land. The Lytton Creek wildfire, which destroyed the community of Lytton and killed two people, was one of the most noteworthy and deadly wildfires of 2021. 

A mid-November storm dropped a month’s worth of rain on the region, causing main roads into and out of the province’s most populated areas to be closed for weeks. Following the original storm, many days of severe rain, accompanied by meteorological phenomena known as “atmospheric rivers,” resulted in additional flooding and devastation. A mudslide triggered by the intense weather killed at least a few individuals, and 15,000 people were forced to abandon their houses.

We are inviting IBPOC and faith community leaders, elected officials, first responders and allies to join us in:

• Formation of a humanitarian coalition to coordinate aid and support among NGOs emergencies to share knowledge and resources to avoid redundancies, duplication of efforts and unnecessary aid material and donation.
• Build awareness of Indigenous land-based best practices.
• Share lessons learned from last year and best practices.
• Build awareness of the challenges firefighters and first responders face.
• Increasing representation of IBPOC community members choosing firefighting as a career.
• Providing additional support for firefighters and first responders.