Kathy Vallerga is among wildfire evacuees who found themselves in need of a little extra help this summer from the emergency services program.
Vallerga lives on the West Fraser Road and was visiting friends in Quesnel when the order came down that her home was under an evacuation order.
She returned to Williams Lake when the evacuation order was lifted for the city, not realizing that her area of the West Fraser Road was still under an evacuation order.
She normally commutes to Williams Lake for work, but fortunately has a daughter in the city who she was able to stay with until the evacuation order for her area was downgraded to an alert this week.
While living under an evacuation order she qualified for emergency funding for food and lodging.
Gaylene Desautels, who helped Vallerga with the paper work of applying for the emergency funding at the emergency social services centre in Williams Lake, also volunteered with her husband, Mark, at the Quesnel emergency centre when Williams Lake was on the evacuation order last month.
Gaylene said it is nice to be able to help with the wildfire situation in some way and volunteering gave them something to do with their time while Williams Lake was under the evacuation order.
The ESS is administered through the CRD and is a provincial emergency program which provides emergency housing, food and in some cases essentials — it is headed by Dave Dickson.
The CRD downgraded evacuation orders to alerts in the Spokin Lake (C20645), Wildwood (C20729), Soda Creek (C20738) (West Fraser Road) and White Lake East (C20735), on Tuesday and Wednesday.
The CRD asks returning evacuees to obey any directions given by first responders or utilities workers. Do not re-enter any areas that were heavily damaged or destroyed by the wildfires until the area has been cleared by the local fire authority.
Inspect your home carefully before entering. Walk carefully around the outside and check for loose power lines, gas leaks and structural damage. If you have any doubts about safety, do not enter.
Do not enter the home if you smell gas or your home was damaged by fire and authorities have not declared it safe.
People are asked to report incidents to police if they see anyone tampering with firefighting equipment.
Correction
In an earlier version of this story which appeared on the website early Friday morning and in the Williams Lake Weekend Advisor Aug. 18, it stated the Desautels were volunteering for the Red Cross which is not the case.