On February 23, the Quadra Island Emergency Support Services Team will practise setting up an Emergency Reception Centre at the Quadra Island Community Centre. Two weeks ago, the SRD’s Protective Services Coordinator asked how feasible it was for CKTZ to deploy its’ “radio in a suitcase” to different locations on Cortes Island. The SRD is currently considering extending its fire protection zones on both Cortes and Quadra Islands. At its last meeting, the SRD Board approved funding to purchase mobile radio kits to enhance emergency “ … communications between the City of Campbell River, Homalco First Nation, and Wei Wai Kai First Nation.” These are only a few recent examples of how the SRD is preparing for an emergency in our area.
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Quadra Island Tourist Booth: Possibly More Than 30,000 visitors
More than 30,000 visitors may have been introduced to Quadra Island’s attractions through the Quadra Island Tourist Booth. This figure is a guesstimate. Most of the 27,230 tourists that came between 2011 and 2019 used the facility more than once. There are statistics for 2006 & 2007, a combined total of 6,976 visitors, and the booth has been operational since 1992.
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Impending Survey: Do North Quadra Residents Want Fire Protection?
Two years ago, many North Quadra Island residents woke up to the sound of explosions. The pre-dusk sky had turned red. A house on Bold Point was engulfed in flames. When the RCMP arrived, they discovered the main power line was down. Three of the occupants were sent to the hospital with smoke inhalation. As this part of the island is protected by BC Wildfire Service, whose mandate does not include structures, no fire department came to their rescue. All that remained of their home was a chimney. While this is an area better known for its forests and abundant marine life, there are more than 250 properties. At their January 29, 2020, board meeting, the Strathcona Regional District (SRD) Board authorized a survey to determine if North Quadra residents want fire protection.
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Tiber Bay: Outside the Protected Zone
Twenty years ago, Bill Friedel was embroiled in a night-long-battle to save a neighbouring Cortes Island property from fire. As they were in Tiber Bay, outside the protected area, the Cortes Island Fire Department did not intervene. One night last Spring, a downed power line “remained live for over 20 minutes and started several intense, small fires …” Luckily, these blazes were spotted before they spread. Tiber Bay is still outside the protected zone today and many residents are asking to be included in the Fire District.
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Local Government Through Annual Town Meeting
Recent events suggest that the Regional District system does not always work well in a remote island like Cortes. Some say, it is time to Cortexit. Our Regional Director says we should work within the existing system, it would be very expensive for a community this small to go it alone. She is currently wondering how a community council system would work on Cortes Island. “A minority of very active voices has been very effective at undermining my credibility at the Regional District, but if what I brought to the district was backed by this community council it would be harder to marginalize.” In this morning’s program we go to Cambridge, Vermont, to explore how an even more democratic system of government would work here. For more than two centuries, the local authorities have been carrying out the decisions made at an annual town meeting that everyone in Cambridge can attend.
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