The Ritchie Brothers site on Highway 16 west of Prince George became a military depot yesterday, as 225 soldiers and 60+ vehicles spent a night in Prince George on their way to the Cariboo. The Edmonton-based soldiers are mainly from the 3rd Canadian Division and Joint Task Force West.
The soldiers will help the RCMP and support BC’s evacuation and firefighting efforts, including the ground delivery of essential aid to affected areas. They are joining approximately 150 Canadian Armed Forces members who are already in BC assisting the province in its emergency response to the wildfires. The response includes air support in the form of military helicopters and the CC-130J Hercules aircraft.
RVs on the move
It’s estimated that close to 1,000 of the evacuees in Prince George are in RVs and while the majority are in campgrounds and locations around Prince George, many are in the parking lots at CN Centre, the College, and the Charles Jago Northern Sport Centre.
The city has been assisting evacuees by providing mobile water and sanitation services. They have also been eligible for grocery vouchers.
In order to make service delivery more efficient, the city is working with the RV owners to move from the NSC, CNC, and CN Centre to the parking lot between the Aquatic Centre and the Exhibition Park soccer fields along George Paul Lane.
This move is scheduled for today and will involve an estimated 40 vehicles.
Consolidating the RVs in one location will better enable the City to provide services to the evacuees.
Numbers update
The number of evacuees from the Cariboo wildfires who have registered at the emergency reception centre at the College of New Caledonia passed 9,300 yesterday. This figure involves 7,559 adults and 1,748 children.