This message was sent to faculty, staff and students in Vancouver and the Okanagan.
Last week, many of us watched as the wildfire situation in the Okanagan evolved into more and more evacuation orders. It was very difficult to see people leaving their homes, some of whom were UBC students, faculty and staff.
On Friday August 18, we were informed that the UBC Okanagan campus was under an evacuation order. Our UBCO leadership and campus operations teams then embarked on an exercise to ensure the safe evacuation of the campus. It was a difficult time for everyone, but we are thankful that the campus was not affected and was downgraded to an evacuation alert on Sunday.
On behalf of the university, I want to offer my heartfelt thanks to all first responders and wildfire personnel on the front lines. I also want to acknowledge the hard work and resilience of those who managed this situation while also evacuating themselves, or housing evacuated family and friends.
UBCO is currently in the process of assessing the situation which continues to evolve on a daily basis. I encourage you to stay updated at https://ok.ubc.ca.
Members of the UBC community wishing to support students who have been displaced by these events, can donate to the UBC Okanagan Student Emergency Assistance Fund at https://give.ubc.ca/projects/ubc-okanagan-student-emergency-assistance-fund/. A message was also issued to UBCO faculty and staff, detailing support available, which can be found at https://news.ok.ubc.ca/2023/08/20/kelowna-wildfires-guidance-for-faculty-and-staff.
Crises like this remind us of the need to support one another and I encourage you to connect with colleagues who may have been impacted. Our thoughts are with those who are displaced as well as the first responders and wildfire personnel who are continuing to work to keep people safe.
Deborah Buszard
Interim President and Vice-Chancellor