[BCMA] Aftermath of the Bald Range Wildfire in Summerland

[Moderated BCMA subscriber listserv]

Hello friends and colleagues,

First off, I would like to send a heartfelt thank you to everyone who sent
messages offering their help and well wishes during our evacuation due to
the Bald Range Wildfire. As I'm sure you can imagine, it was a rather
hectic time for us so I wasn't able to respond to every message. I did read
them though, and was very touched by the care and concern expressed.

Thankfully, the Summerland Museum and Archives is about 1km from the fire's
perimeter line. Our collections and facility are safe. We had a bit of
clean-up to perform upon re-entry, mainly changing the filters in our HVAC
system and bringing in "air scrubbers". There was no noticeable debris or
accumulated particulate inside the museum though we did have our janitors
clean the building before staff returned to work. All in all, much less
clean-up than we had to do at our homes. We also had a rep from WorkSafeBC
stop by and he confirmed there wasn't anything further they would suggest
we do - although their guidelines may change as interface wildfires become
more frequent.

Now that we are catching our breath, we are turning our attention to
documenting the wildfire. We have a few ideas for how we might do this
(interviews, collecting photographs and other materials, putting together a
book), but I want to proceed gently and with respect for those most
affected. It has been very heavy hearing the stories of loss and terror
from family members, friends, and folks around town. I am wondering if any
other museum professionals could share their experiences with post-disaster
documentation or offer recommendations for how to approach the task
sensitively. If you would prefer, you can email me directly at
curator at summerlandmuseum.org.

Thanks very much, everyone - sending best wishes for your health and safety,
Petra
-- 
Petra Höller (*They/She)*
Curator
Summerland Museum and Archives
(250) 494-9395
*curator@*summerlandmuseum.org <archives at summerlandmuseum.org>
The Summerland Museum and Archives respectfully acknowledges
that we are situated on the unceded and ancestral territory of the Syilx
People.
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