Whitehorse prepares for the worst, with simulated emergency

People in Whitehorse were seeing some military activity around the city on Wednesday — but it was only a drill. Canadian Forces and local emergency workers were conducting exercises to help prepare for the worst.

It's part of this year's Operation Nanook-Tatigiit. The Arctic military exercises takes place regularly in a different locations across the North.

"It's rare that we have an opportunity to all work together in a simulation like this. A lot of work has gone into it," said John Coyne, with Yukon's Department of Health and Social Services. 

Coyne was at the Canada Games Centre in Whitehorse, where dozens of cots were set up in a simulated emergency centre.

The annual training exercise was focused more on wildfires this year. The drill saw emergency crews and volunteers pretend there was a major wildfire south of the city that forced the evacuation of the rural subdivisions of Cowley Creek and Mary Lake.

"We're learning a lot from it. We're learning how to work together really effectively," Coyne said.

More than 150 military personnel were in Whitehorse for the exercise, along with dozens of local emergency workers. The Department of Health and Social Services alone had 30 to 40 people involved, Coyne said.

Deanna White was the childcare supervisor at the emergency reception centre. She says even though there were no actual evacuees there, the simulation was effective and useful.

"They tell you that it's now [accelerated] to the next community, and you start to panic — how am I going to care for another 20 children, and stuff like that. So it is very realistic when you're in here," she said.

White says a big part of her job is creating a "calm, chill environment" for children who may be scared and confused in an actual emergency.

"It's loud and it's scary and it's a very weird environment. That's why we try to set up sort of like the cozy corner we've got," she said.

"We have people on our team that do the trauma-informed care, because again, you may or may not have just lost everything that you have, and you're three years old — how are you going to explain that?" 

Practicing evacuation order

Residents of Cowley Creek and Mary Lake were not actually forced to leave their homes as part of the simulation, and were told ahead of time that it was just a drill.  

Mary Lake resident Sandy Johnston said he didn't get a lot of information beforehand, but he didn't seem to mind. He said he was just glad to see it happening. 

"I think it's long overdue. We really need a good evacuation plan for the city," he said.

"Every day that it's above 25 C and sunny with the wind blowing, I'm always looking to the south for smoke. So it's a constant. It's constantly on our minds."

Chris Green, deputy fire chief with the Whitehorse Fire Department says the military presence has helped expand firefighters' wildfire preparation and helped them accomplish more work.  

"We're really testing our evacuation plan for the city," he said.

On Tuesday, firefighters and military personnel went door-to-door in the Cowley Creek and Mary Lake subdivisions, assessing properties for wildfire risk. 

Green says firefighters also made note of creeks or lakes which could be used to pump water. 

"This structural triage is, basically, identifying if a property or a group of properties can be saved in the event of a wildfire," he said. "It also helps identify those available resources," he said.

Green said that firefighters are able to provide recommendations, but don't have legal power to make residents cut down trees or change things on their properties. 

"All we can do is educate," he said.