By Roy L Hales
With Cortes Island’s largest annual event fast approaching, I met with event organizer Kristen Schofield-Sweet. As it was a glorious spring afternoon., we sat at the wooden picnic table behind the radio station. When Howie Roman finished his program, “Anything Goes,” he joined us in a discussion of Seafest 2019 and what this event means to our island community.
Continue reading Coming on May 18 – Seafest 2019By Roy L Hales
Cortes Island Volunteer Fire Captain Eli McKenty received the page at 8 a.m. There was a fire at the Recycling Center on Squirrel Cove Road. As the island’s fire chief was not available, McKenty was in charge. He had, as yet, little indication of what lay ahead. Never-the-less, while he was waiting for his crew to assemble, McKenty received word that one of the recycling centre’s staff called. The flammable shed storage is burning and there is sounds of explosions. The staff member called 911 and was fighting the fire. McKenty alerted the ambulance and, as a precaution alerted an elite provincial fire fighting unit that it might be needed. Arriving on the scene some 40 minutes later, he discovered the fire had already spread to the trees. If this were an actual event, tomorrow’s newspaper headlines would probably say something like “Cortes Island Fire Leads To Mass Evacuation“. In reality, this table talk was one of the components of Cortes Island’s Emergency Preparedness and & Awareness Weekend.
Continue reading Cortes Island’s Emergency Preparedness & Awareness WeekendBy Roy L Hales
Though the population doubles or triples during the summer months, there are less than a thousand people on Cortes throughout the year. The RCMP come from off island, but we have a medical clinic, ambulance and a relatively large volunteer fire department (with firehalls at Mansons Landing and Whaletown). So, at the Cortes Island Preparedness and Awareness weekend, I asked the local Fire Chief how often does Cortes Island need emergency services?
Continue reading How Often Does Cortes Island Need Emergency Services?
