In the midst of the far north region of Alberta Province, Canada, 14 Victorians from the Country Fire Authority (CFA) and Forest Fire Management Victoria (FFMVic) have worked within an Incident Management Team (IMT) for the past month. Their task was to manage three of the over 420 fires raging across Canada.
As more of these crews return to Australia, they are sharing their experiences. CFA’s Ellisa Bourne was positioned as a Public Information Officer within an IMT during her time in Canada.
“The majority of my role was connecting with communities to ensure they had current information about the fires… and to support them with evacuation and re-entry after evacuation as the fires were still burning,” she explained.
Ellisa found the work processes in the remote Rainbow Lake area different from Victoria’s, which proved to be both challenging and rewarding. While Victoria’s PIO role coordinates and manages warnings and advice, in Canada they’re co-ordinated by other agencies depending on the location. She explained that “we did provide advice and guidance on evacuation triggers,” which led Ellisa to a unique and rewarding connection with the First Nations communities while spending time on their reservations.
“I spent most of my time with the Dene Tha community that had a reservation in a town called Chetah. The Dene Tha community was evacuated from their homes for over three weeks but fortunately the town was not impacted by fire. It was such an honour and a privilege to get to know them and understand their challenges. They were very welcoming and appreciated the support from us,” Ellisa said.
Ellisa’s extended stay with the Dene Tha community resulted in some lasting impressions. “They were very grateful that Australians had travelled a long way to support them in their time of need. As I was there for over a month, it allowed me to really connect and get to know them. Usually, deployments are no more than a week, so you don’t get the chance to really get to know the community,” she recounted.
At the end of her stay, they had a surprise for her: “When we left, the Dene Tha First Nations people presented the Australian IMT with a beautiful handmade painting, clothing and baskets to show their appreciation. We hope to display these items proudly at the State Control Centre.”
Looking back at her time in Canada, Ellisa has fond memories of the people she met and worked alongside.
“It was great to have community actively involved in developing their own evacuation triggers. I very much enjoyed my deployment and the experiences. Working alongside our FFMVic colleagues was also a highlight - we looked after each other and became a little family. I will never forget my experiences from this deployment and share a special bond with my colleagues.”
As for being away from her family? Technology helped to bridge that gap while she was deployed. “It was difficult to be away from family for that long, however, I was able to connect via Face Time every day, which helped.”
