Emergency Planning Meeting a Success
- kc dyer
- Jun 9
- 4 min read
Next up: sharing updated Village Evacuation Plan
When the worst happens, how can we help each other?
This is the question Emergency Planning Coordinator (EPC) Mary Brown asked the residents of Mountain, Sunset and Timbertop Drive last weekend.
It's a serious question. Residents in the Sea to Sky live in one of British Columbia's most active regions for landslides and debris torrents. And even in a temperate rainforest region, wildfire is becoming a major concern for BC residents.
Long-time resident Leslie Nolin was mentored by former Public Works head Nai Jaffer to secure funding to update the evacuation plan for the Village. Since taking over the role of EPC last fall, Brown has used the funding to hire professional emergency planning company AB Consulting. Their team have updated evacuation plans for the Village in case of wildfire, earthquake, landslide or other emergency situation. Brown plans to share this information at a Village-wide Evacuation Planning session at 7 p.m. on June 22 at the Village Hall.
That evening, guest speaker Alberni-Clayoquot Regional District director Bob Beckett will discuss lessons learned when Bamfield was cut off from the rest of the province by wildfires last summer. AB Consulting will follow with the new evacuation plan, and Brown will facilitate a Q&A.
Brown emphasizes that an essential part of the plan is to ensure neighbours know each other.
BC's 2026 Emergency Preparedness plan theme is “In it Together”, and Brown says that everyone’s readiness improves when neighbours look out for one another. "A strong sense of trust and belonging before an emergency means people can rely on each other when one occurs."
At last Sunday's meeting, dozens of residents who live on the mountainside above the north end of Bayview Road gathered together to hear Brown's presentation and to ask questions.
And ask they did.
A paramount concern was that if Bayview Road becomes impassible for any reason — a fire at the school, or an earthquake — the members of more than 100 families have only a single option for escaping the Village. And this option, Soundview Trail, is currently blocked by a locked gate.
Brown stressed the importance of having the Alertable app available on residents' mobile phones. The free app is available for both Android and iOS systems and can also communicate via land line. It notifies users of significant local community emergencies with instructions on what to do and where to go in order to stay safe. It is fully customizable and can also notify users of specific events like earthquake early warning, fire, flooding, and nearby road closures.
Brown considers it essential for every Lions Bay family. "It's the way I and other services can communicate with you during any emergency situation," she said.
For those not yet signed up for Alertable, the app is available in both the Google Play App store and the Apple App store. It's free to download.
Brown explained that the In It Together program is based loosely on the Block Watch program, requiring neighbourhood 'pod' captains that will coordinate 10-15 houses in their immediate area. She noted that having this information is important both in the case of evacuation and if residents have to shelter in place during an emergency.
"If evacuation is difficult or impossible we may have to take care of ourselves until outside agencies can assist us," Brown said.
After covering the basics, the group broke up into smaller local 'pods' to collect basic contact information from their neighbours. During the subsequent discussion, groups created 'What's App' communities for use only in emergencies. And after the meeting, Timbertop resident Herb Johnston volunteered to share the two walkable routes from the area with other interested neighbours.
This initiative has been principally volunteer-driven. Several years ago, Lions Bay Emergency Social Services (ESS) was in need of funding that would allow for essential planning and emergency preparedness. Nolin, who was taking a course in seeking grant-funding, worked with Jaffer as her mentor to write the necessary grants, Brown, who was volunteering with ESS at the time, supported Nolin's hunt for a grant to purchase equipment for the community and a grant to fund a complete evacuation plan.
"Both grants required help and mentorship as the application was detailed, inclusive and required the correct planning language and context," says Nolin. "It's been a rewarding experience seeing Mary push it all the way across the finish line."
After the Village-wide Evacuation Plan meeting on June 22, Brown is hoping to facilitate other smaller neighbourhood meetings where residents can connect and share information.
Interested residents can contact Brown at mbrown@lionsbay.ca.
Lions Bay Evacuation Plan Meeting
Village Hall, 350 Centre Road
June 22, 7 p.m.
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Thanks Mary and Leslie for all the work you have put into this and finally getting things moving.
Fred Blaine and I worked on different escape routes a number of years ago and had meetings with ESS, Fire Department, SAR etc. Although the meetings seemed to go well we never succeeded in getting a cohesive plan of action for an emergency.
Hopefully his time will be different.
I have copious notes I can share.
Looking forward to the meeting on the 22nd.
Well done, Mary!