Fort St. John hosting Emergency Support Services open house

FORT ST. JOHN, B.C. — The City of Fort St. John is holding an Emergency Support Services (ESS) open house for residents interested in volunteering.

City of Fort St. John communications manager Ryan Harvey says the open house will give community members an opportunity to learn more about volunteering in a reception center during an evacuation.

Currently, the ESS centre is supporting the Peace River Regional District (PRRD) with its evacuation orders from the Red Creek wildfire, the Donnie Creek and Tommy Lakes areas, and the Boundary Lake wildfire.

Harvey says the ESS centre has enough volunteers and supplies for the time being, but the open house is for residents interested in helping with future events.

He added that Fort St. John is under no threat from the wildfires.

“It’s important for people to remember that there’s no need to panic,” Harvey emphasized.

According to Harvey, the city is in constant contact with the PRRD and is monitoring the wildfire situation ad getting regular updates.

“Should anything change, obviously, we’ll get those messages out, but right now, the city itself is under no real danger,” Harvey said.

The event will be held on Tuesday, May 16th, at the North Peace Arena from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. If someone cannot attend, a form can be filled out online.