Emergency Preparedness

1. Sign up for Silvermere Alert

Silvermere Alert is the City's primary mass-notification tool. In an emergency or significant incident, the City sends a message to everyone registered: text, phone call, landline, or email, depending on what you signed up for.

Sign up for Silvermere Alert. It's free, takes a few minutes, and is one of the two things at the top of this page for a reason: a real evacuation alert in your hand is what gives you time to grab the kit and go. Register every adult in your household separately.

2. Build a grab-and-go kit

In a wildfire evacuation order or other rapid-response emergency, you may have less than an hour to leave. The kit means you don't have to think under pressure. Pack one for each member of your household.

The core 72-hour kit:

• Water: 4 litres per person per day, for 3 days
• Food: non-perishable, no-cook (granola bars, nuts, canned tuna with pull-tab, etc.)
• Prescription medications: 7-day supply plus a list of dosages
• Documents: photocopies or a USB drive with ID, insurance, passports, property documents
• Power: phone charger and a fully charged backup battery pack
• Cash: small bills (ATMs may be down)
• Clothing: warm layers, sturdy closed-toe shoes, rain gear, hat
• First aid kit: basic supplies plus any personal items (EpiPen, inhaler, glucose meter)
• Light: headlamp or flashlight, extra batteries
• Tools: multi-tool, whistle, duct tape, local map
• Pets: food, water, leash/carrier, vaccination records
• Comfort items: blanket, small toy for kids, a book

3. Know the three evacuation levels

When an official evacuation order is issued, it will use one of three standard BC levels. Recognize them:

• Evacuation Alert: the risk is real and rising. Be ready. Pack your vehicle, gather documents, plan your route. Don't leave yet.
• Evacuation Order: leave now. This is not a suggestion. Take your grab-and-go kit, follow the instructed route, and register at the reception centre.
• Evacuation Rescind (no longer in effect): the order is lifted. You can return home. Follow any instructions about utilities, water, or debris before re-entering.

4. Wildfire (the big one in Silvermere)

Silvermere sits in the wildfire interface. In a dry year, smoke and wildfire risk shape our summer. The Silvermere Fire Department and BC Wildfire Service coordinate response, with the City handling local evacuation communication.

FireSmart your home (before fire season)

The best wildfire protection is done in April, not August. FireSmart principles focus on the Home Ignition Zone, the 30 metres immediately around your house, where you can dramatically reduce the odds of ignition.

• 0 to 1.5 metres: no combustibles. No wood mulch touching the house, no firewood against siding, gravel or hardscape instead.
• 1.5 to 10 metres: keep grass short, remove ladder fuels (shrubs under trees), prune tree branches up to 2 metres.
• 10 to 30 metres: thin conifers, remove dead wood and accumulated debris.
• Roof and gutters: clean regularly, especially before fire season. Ember-proof vents.
• Wood piles: at least 10 metres from any structure.

The FireSmart BC website has detailed home assessment guides and a free homeowner self-assessment tool.

During wildfire season

• Watch alerts: Silvermere Alert, the BC Wildfire dashboard, and local radio (Highlands Co-op Radio, CKQR).
• Respect campfire bans: check current BC fire bans. Fines are steep and enforcement is real.
• Report a fire: call 250-555-0199. Don't assume someone else has called.
• Have a go-bag in your vehicle: if you're out of town when an order comes down, you may not be able to return home.

5. Smoke and air quality

Even when the fires aren't ours, Highlands smoke can push Silvermere air quality to hazardous levels. In a bad week, it's a serious health issue, especially for kids, seniors, and anyone with respiratory conditions.

• Check real-time air quality using the national Air Quality Health Index (AQHI) and a wildfire smoke forecast during fire season.
• Create a clean room: a sealed room in your house with a portable HEPA air purifier or a DIY box-fan filter. This matters enormously for vulnerable household members.
• Limit outdoor activity when AQHI is 7 or higher. Masks (N95/KN95) help outdoors if you must be out.
• Respite options: the Silvermere & District Community Complex and public buildings may open as cooling/clean-air shelters during extreme smoke events. Watch the alerts page.

6. Flood and high water

Spring runoff (May, June) is when Silver Lake and Cedar Creek push their hardest. Flood risk is usually moderate, but in high-snowpack years or rapid warming events it can become serious quickly.

• If you live near the lake or creeks (including the Cedar Creek area): know your address's floodplain status. Check the City's flood maps or call Development Services at 250-555-0100.
• Don't drive through flooded roads. Six inches of moving water can sweep a vehicle. Turn around.
• Sandbag resources: in a declared flood event, the City publishes sandbag pickup locations via Silvermere Alert.
• Check the lake & creek levels: Cedar Creek at Silvermere (Environment Canada).

7. Power outages

Windstorms, snow loading, and accidents can take power down. Highwater Energy is Silvermere's electricity provider. Extended outages are rare but possible.

• Report an outage: Highwater Energy at 250-555-0190 or online.
• Have backup: flashlights, battery lanterns, a battery-powered radio. Don't rely on your phone alone (charging is the problem).
• Fridge and freezer: keep doors closed. A full freezer holds temperature for about 48 hours, a full fridge for about 4 hours.
• Generators: use outdoors only, at least 7 metres from any window. Carbon monoxide kills.
• Warming / cooling shelters: in extended outages, the City may open public buildings. Watch Silvermere Alert and the alerts page.

8. Boil water advisory

Boil water advisories are issued by West Highlands Health when the water supply may be contaminated. The City notifies residents via Silvermere Alert and on this website.

• Boil: bring tap water to a rolling boil for at least 1 minute before drinking, cooking, brushing teeth, washing produce, or making ice.
• Alternatives: bottled water is safe. Water from known-safe sources (outside the advisory area) is fine.
• Dishes: run through a hot-water cycle in the dishwasher, or hand-wash and sanitize with a dilute bleach rinse.
• Pets: boil their drinking water too.

9. Winter storms

Silvermere winters are generally mild by Canadian standards, but cold snaps and heavy snow events happen. Power outages compound the risk.

• Insulate exposed pipes in unconditioned spaces (crawl spaces, exterior walls). A burst pipe is a household-level disaster.
• Clear roof snow for heavily loaded roofs if safe to do so.
• Keep your vehicle stocked: blanket, snacks, water, shovel, scraper, sand or kitty litter for traction.
• Warming shelters: the Out of the Cold program and partnering churches (Cedar Flats Church of God, New Life Church) open during extreme cold. Hours noon to 8 p.m. at participating locations. The Recreation Complex is a default daytime warming space.
• Check on neighbours, especially seniors or anyone living alone. A knock on the door is the simplest emergency protocol there is.

10. Earthquake

Silvermere's earthquake risk is lower than the BC coast, but the Highlands do sit on active fault systems. A significant earthquake is low-probability but high-consequence.

• Drop, cover, hold on. Drop to the floor, take cover under a sturdy table, hold on until shaking stops.
• Not doorways: the old advice is outdated. Modern doorways are not stronger than the rest of your home. Drop, cover, hold.
• Afterwards: check for gas leaks (don't use flames), evacuate if damage is significant, expect aftershocks.
• Sign up for ShakeAlert: Earthquake Early Warning alerts are in development for BC. Watch PreparedBC for updates.

11. Make a household plan

A plan turns preparation into something you don't have to think about during the emergency.

• Two exit routes from your neighbourhood. A bridge can be closed; the lake can rise.
• An out-of-area contact: someone who lives outside the region who everyone in the family agrees to call or text to check in. Local lines can overload.
• A meeting point: one close to home (neighbour's driveway) and one further away (a café in Brookvale) in case Silvermere itself is evacuated.
• Talk to kids about it. Age-appropriate conversations work better than emergency-moment improvisation. The PreparedBC website has family plan templates.
• Pets: include their food, meds, carrier, and a photo (ID) in the family plan. Most evacuation centres accept pets; some don't, so have a backup (a friend in an unaffected area).