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Disaster information is critical

When disaster strikes, people need information – quickly. Hours and even minutes matter when the sky is filling with black smoke and there seems to be a chemical smell in the air.
fire
A thick cloud of smoke and uncertainty covered Squamish on April 16 during a major fire.

When disaster strikes, people need information – quickly.

Hours and even minutes matter when the sky is filling with black smoke and there seems to be a chemical smell in the air. People wonder: Is it safe to go outside? Should we evacuate from our homes? Is it safe to breathe without a mask? Can we drink the water?

And perhaps most importantly: What, exactly, is happening? Why is the sky black?

Our role as local news media is critical in getting this information out, and for both Thursday evening’s fire and Sunday morning’s rockslide, we had journalists on the ground within minutes, before roads closed, finding answers and posting images and news. Journalists often get dangerously close to fire scenes where explosions can occur or rockslides where debris is still falling to get you the information you need.

However, we also rely on official sources to send us information required to tell citizens what is happening. They need to get this information in a timely matter to the local media so we can inform you.

On Thursday night, they failed us. Not a single District of Squamish news release was issued Thursday, and Vancouver media were treated with higher priority than local sources.

The first District media release The Squamish Chief received was at 1:54 a.m. Friday, more than seven hours after the fire began and citizens had been breathing putrid smoke all night. Official information was difficult to obtain, even as Chief reporters worked the phones and went to the scenes. There were a few posts on the district website, but not a single news release with information we could relay to readers who were worried during that time.

On Sunday, after the rockslide, the communications were much better, but again the focus seemed on providing interviews to Vancouver media instead of information to local media whose readers live in Squamish.

This week, The Squamish Chief reached more than 166,000 people through our posts – and you can bet that includes almost everyone in Squamish.

For both disasters, we got the information out to you but it shouldn’t have been that difficult. Let’s hope future communications are smoother. Our safety as Squamish residents depends upon it.

– Christine Endicott

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