Many residents affected by last summer鈥檚 wildfires are struggling to return to normality because of a lack of recovery funds from relevant authorities.
This year the British Columbia government gave $600,000 to the Red Cross, which along with private donations came to about $2 million that the non-profit could spend on assistance with wildfire recovery in the Regional District of Bulkley-Nechako (RDBN).
That amount pales in comparison to what B.C. gave the Red Cross last year: $162 million, including about $62 million in donations.
Of that sum, $119 million was spent and committed as of June 22, 2018, according to a Red Cross fact sheet.
What鈥檚 more, the Red Cross is working to provide $7 million of the unspent funds from 2017 to the BC Fire Chief鈥檚 Association and the Office of the Fire Commissioner for training and equipment purchases, as explained by RDBN Board Chairman Bill Miller in a letter to the province and Red Cross.
鈥淭he RDBN Board is extremely concerned that the unspent 2017 wildfire relief funds are accessible by the BC Fire Chiefs Association, but are not being made available to address the critically underfunded recovery needs of RDBN residents,鈥� he wrote.
鈥淸The funding situation is] disappointing because it鈥檚 like you鈥檙e making these people second class citizens, as if they don鈥檛 deserve the same treatment as they got last year,鈥� Miller told Lakes District 亚洲天堂.
Last year鈥檚 assistance broke down into $600 per family for every two weeks they were evacuated from their homes, monetary support for helping people return home after evacuating, funding for replacing damaged refrigerators and freezers and support for small businesses.
While Miller acknowledges that more people were affected by the fires in 2017 and more homes were lost, there was a reduced level of support this year.
鈥淔or instance, last year there were people reimbursed to a certain degree for purchasing freezers and fridges. But that didn鈥檛 happen this year. Things like that were provided last year that aren鈥檛 being provided this year,鈥� he said.
In response to the concern over the large difference in recovery funding between 2017 and 2018, Kimberley Nemrava, Canadian Red Cross Vice President for B.C. and Yukon explained that it comes down to donors鈥� intentions.
鈥淲hen we鈥檙e given funding for specific disasters we鈥檙e careful to honour the intent of the donors and use the money in the way the donors intended,鈥� she said.
Specific breakdowns on how much has been spent on the needs of people in the 亚洲天堂 Lake area are not known, as spending isn鈥檛 tracked by regional district, Red Cross Communications Advisor Andrew Hopkins said.
Jordan Turner, Communications Manager for Mike Farnworth, B.C. Minister of Public Safety and Solicitor General, said in addressing the funding discrepancy that 鈥渢he Province is now working with the Canadian Red Cross to determine appropriate supports for communities to recover from the 2018 wildfire season.鈥�
In the meantime, residents in fire-affected areas of Bulkley-Nechako, especially the Southside are left with limited resources to cope with home and infrastructure damage, loss of winter food and firewood supplies, and other costs due to lack of insurance.
