The Role of Community Post-Wildfire
A wildfire is an event that highlights the importance of a strong community network. In agriculture communities there exist many resources for farmers to help one another evacuate animals, find shelter, and reunite with animals post-fire.
For example, Canadian agricultural societies such as:
are organizations that help people evacuate their animals and provide spaces where farmers can temporarily house their livestock.
A wildfire is an event that highlights the importance of a strong community network. In agriculture communities there exist many resources for farmers to help one another evacuate animals, find shelter, and reunite with animals post-fire.
For example, Canadian agricultural societies such as:
are organizations that help people evacuate their animals and provide spaces where farmers can temporarily house their livestock.
FaceBook Groups
FaceBook groups are excellent resources that provide diverse forms of help. In addition to recruiting help when evacuating animals, FaceBook groups create the emergency infrastructure for displaced individuals to find resources and shelter. The Canadian Red Cross provides similar assistance, as well as post-fire aid.
FaceBook groups are excellent resources that provide diverse forms of help. In addition to recruiting help when evacuating animals, FaceBook groups create the emergency infrastructure for displaced individuals to find resources and shelter. The Canadian Red Cross provides similar assistance, as well as post-fire aid.
Reuniting with Animals
For farmers that are forced to evacuate in the event of a wildfire but are unable to evacuate all of their livestock, many make the difficult decision to leave animals behind. In the event that livestock remain during a wildfire, it is important to take photographs of animals being left behind as well as leave them with identifying tags. This makes it much easier for farmers to be reunited with their livestock post-fire. Once again, community FaceBook channels are instrumental in this reuniting process.
For farmers that are forced to evacuate in the event of a wildfire but are unable to evacuate all of their livestock, many make the difficult decision to leave animals behind. In the event that livestock remain during a wildfire, it is important to take photographs of animals being left behind as well as leave them with identifying tags. This makes it much easier for farmers to be reunited with their livestock post-fire. Once again, community FaceBook channels are instrumental in this reuniting process.
The High Level
Mayerthorpe and Darwell & District Agricultural Society
My family friends were part of a community FaceBook group where they were able to give and receive help with animal evacuation as well as find temporary shelter for them. The farming community has developed a long-standing, collaborative and helpful nature that has helped individuals survive through various hardships that now includes the wildfire season which has become the norm rather than the exception. This type of collaboration is something communities in areas prone to wildfires or those who have found themselves under evacuation alert several years in a row, are coming to embrace to survive.
