New disaster relief society in North Okanagan, B.C., offers wildfire aid

A newly formed society in the North Okanagan is working to help those hit hardest by the wildfire that swept through parts of the Shuswap over the summer.

The North Shuswap Disaster Relief Society is preparing to hand out donated funds raised during and after the Bush Creek East blaze that covered more than 400 square kilometres and destroyed almost 200 homes and cabins.

The North Shuswap director for the Columbia-Shuswap Regional District says he knows of as many as 30 people are in “dire straits.”

Those people – and others affected by the intense wildfire – could share about half-a-million dollars in assistance from the relief society.