Penticton’s Emergency Support Services has registered 195 evacuees as of 4 p.m. Tuesday, while Princeton’s ESS centre has taken in 557 as of Tuesday morning.
Princeton’s number hasn’t changed since yesterday, though some may be heading back to their homes, as a minor adjustment in the evacuation order knocked 47 homes back down to evacuation alert Tuesday morning.
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Penticton’s number is up from 132 Monday night, with most evacuees coming from Williams Lake, which was ordered evacuated on Saturday.
Penticton’s reception centre was largely opened due to that influx of evacuees, with provincial calls for more evacuation centres on Saturday — the Penticton Community Centre opened its gymnasium in response.
Officials are reminding evacuees with lodging and food to register with the local ESS reception centre to let others know that they are safe. Those in need of assistance can report to the ESS centre, where food vouchers and housing can be arranged.
The Regional District of Okanagan-Similkameen has worked with the City of Penticton and Spectra, which operates the South Okanagan Events Centre, to set up 400 cots in the SOEC concourse.
That’s being done as a precautionary measure, and officials say they may not even get used if they’re not needed.
Those who have arrived are being asked to find family or friends to stay with, with events taking up many of the hotel beds in Penticton.
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Local ESS volunteers say the best way to help out the Penticton ESS reception centre is to volunteer their time — particularly those who have been trained in registering and processing evacuees.
