A couple from Celista, BC who reached out on the internet for help last week continue to insist the wildfire response has been inadequate..Stef and Jorne Wiebe took to socal media last week to complain that authorities were doing more to hinder than to help the fire response. This week the couple offered an update to the Western Standard..“Thank you for reaching out to us. My husband and I have left the Shuswap to return to work. There are some supplies getting in by boat. We have a friend with a tugboat that's finally been given permission to deliver fuel, animal feed and antibiotics,” said Stef Wiebe..“The police roadblocks are still there. It's a circus. The cops think it's stupid. The CSRD [Columbia Shuswap Regional District] thinks it's stupid. The locals think it's stupid and still the circus goes on. BCWS [BC Wildfire Servce] agreed to allow locals to travel in the emergency] zone if they have their S100 fire course so a local business is holding the course for them.”.Wiebe is bracing herself for the worst..“The worst part is it's warming up so they'll likely lose control of the fire if the winds pick up again,” she said..“They took an opportunity to make things a million times worse and are fanning the flames, for lack of a better term, in prolonging the situation. It’s terrible. It’s actually criminal.”.Stef’s husband Jorne said some progress had been made..“The fire has been downgraded to a level 1 or less with no current threat to structures. They're working to contain it. The police still have the community under siege and are doing their best to starve them out,” he said. .Asked his feelings on the authorities’ response to the fire, he said,.“I honestly don't think it's possible to be more pissed off.”
