The Bulkley Valley Museum is getting their ducks in a row in case of a town-wide evacuation or alert during wildfire season.
“The plan is important because if there was ever a need to evacuate, we want to be ready to react as quickly as possible, especially if time is limited,” said curator Kira Westby.
“This is just as true for the museum as it is for our own homes and property. We want a clear set of instructions and contacts prepared so that we can follow the plan rather than scrambling in a panic.
“We want to know what we are taking, exactly where it is in our storage, and who is responsible for it. We will all be thinking about our own homes, pets, loved ones, etc., and so we want the museum’s process to be quick and seamless. Emergency planning is part of our due diligence and, in my view, an ethical obligation for the museum as the stewards of this community history.”
She added that realistically they cannot evacuate everything – they have more than 3,400 artifacts, more than 10,000 photographs, and thousands of pages of documents, maps and newspapers.
Westby said it is crucial to save some of this material because there is an intrinsic and intangible value to the original items. Loss of the community’s history would be devastating, both to the museum and the whole community.
The museum has had a basic plan in place for about five years now.
Last year, Anne Desplanches who specializes in heritage emergency planning and recovery joined the musuem board and Westby said they have been fortunate to tap into her knowledge and expertise to further formalize the plan and to integrate more details based on her experiences.
“With the fires that were close to Smithers last year, and looking ahead to what will likely be another stressful fire season ahead, we want to make sure that we are prepared,” added Westby.
“Emergency planning is often something that gets easily pushed to a backburner, both at home and at work, because more immediate things come up in our day-to-day lives. So we have set aside specific time this spring to really focus on getting the plan finalized.”
This has included reaching out to their core group of museum volunteers who they work with regularly to engage them in the process. The museum only has two staff members, so they cannot be responsible for taking all of the items they have prioritized for evacuation.
They have asked that board members and some of these long-term volunteers be a part of the plan as well, with the idea that if they all take a few things, everyone has room for their personal belongings as well, and the museum staff is not burdened with everything.
“Heritage cannot protect itself, but we can. Planning in advance allows us to avoid confusion during an evacuation, to channel resources, and to optimize actions,” said Desplanches.