A pair of volunteers with the Cranbrook and Fernie Salvation Army went out to provide food and water to those displaced by B.C.’s flooding.
Volunteer Stephen Brien said the team was sent out in an emergency supply truck to make food in Penticton and bring it out to people in Princeton.
“We were feeding about 150 to 200 hot meals and we were giving out about the same number of meals in a bag so people could have something when we weren’t there,” said Brien.
Clean drinking water was in high demand among evacuees and residents.
“There’s no water that is available, and if there is, there’s a boil water advisory,” said Brien. “We went there with water to give with our meals, but we were giving it away in cases because they couldn’t find water or they didn’t have jugs to fill.”
He and Fernie Salvation Army’s Major Kirk Green were the only two to take the emergency-response truck, but they did have help from others to prepare for the trip.
Brien said he and Green were serving meals and water from Saturday, Nov. 20 to Wednesday, Nov 24.
“Words really can’t describe how bad it is when you have a foot of mud in your home and it’s snowing out and then it’s going to rain and then freeze,” explained Brien. “People are just barely surviving.”
Brien said there is talk of volunteers going to Merritt to help out there in the coming weeks. He added that he encourages people to donate what they can to help out the people in need.
