Brent and Deborah Hobden have spent a good portion of their summer assisting victims of wildfires that have ravaged a number of communities around B.C. In July, they were part of a five-person team that spent five days in Merritt. Then in August, the couple spent eight days in Prince George.
“It was a massive undertaking by the Salvation Army,” said Brent, the community ministries director at the Comox Valley branch of the Salvation Army. “It’s just phenomenal the amount of hours Salvation Army and the province have put in, to do what we can to take the edge off. It’s such a nasty experience. Working with these people — what they’ve gone through is unreal.”
In Williams Lake, there were times when he couldn’t see across a street due to the thickness of the smoke.
They and other Salvation Army volunteers from around B.C., and some from Alberta, have assisted fire evacuation relief efforts by distributing food and household items, and by listening to concerns and problems of victims.
“We know that people are given very little time (when fire hits),” Hobden said. “These are our friends and our neighbours. They have no idea what they’re leaving, they have no clue where they’re going. And even the time they’re away, they have the worry of not knowing what’s happening with their house, whether it’s protected, whether it’s going up in smoke. It’s a horrible feeling. Having emotional and spiritual support — for some might sound that it’s just not necessary — but we found it was absolutely instrumental. We had hundreds of conversations with people. We spent hours and hours with people, just listening to their cares and concerns. Even just sharing stories that had nothing to do with the fire. Just somebody to talk to.”
Locally, the Salvation Army has a food services vehicle used for emergencies.
“We served 1,760 meals one day alone in Prince George,” said Brent, noting other food units assisted efforts in Kamloops, Vernon, Kelowna, Merritt and Williams Lake.
Province-wide, as of Aug. 17, the Salvation Army has distributed more than 50,000 meals, nearly 120,000 drinks and more than 6,000 household items to wildfire victims. Collectively, volunteers have worked more than 23,000 hours.