The annual Emergency Preparedness Week is underway, a gentle reminder to be as ready as you can for a worst case scenerio.
The District of Central Saanich is hosting to its first ever Emergency Preparedness Expo on Sunday.
The event from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at Heritage Acres off Lochside Drive will feature emergency response experts and live demonstrations.
"Residents can learn tips on how to be proactive and protect themselves in an emergency," said Central Saanich Emergency Program Manager Lisa Banfield. "You need to be prepared to be self-sufficient for at least seven days in an emergency."
The biannual emergency alert test will be issued to cellphones, TVs and radio at 10:55 a.m. PT on Wednesday, May 8.
Saturday marks Wildfire Community Preparedness Day
As of Wednesday, May 1, there were 108 wildfires burning in British Columbia. A number of those fires are holdovers from the record fire season B.C. experienced in 2023.
"We did recover from the drought in 2023, and have benefitted from recent precipitation." Coastal Fire Centre's Fire Information Officer Kimberly Kelly told CFAX1070. "But if we don't get the "June”uary precipitation as expected, we could be in for another dry summer and active wildfire season on Vancouver Island."
Stage 1 water restrictions come into effect on May 1 each year in the Comox Valley.
The CRD Stage 1 Watering Schedule in Greater Victoria is also in effect until September 30.
To reduce peak demand during summer morning periods, the Bylaw was amended this year with a new overnight lawn watering schedule for timed irrigation systems and tweaks to the watering day for public, institutional, and community playing fields.
The new allowable watering time to playing fields is any day other than Wednesday, in order to eliminate overlap with residential lawn watering days -- where the largest peak demands are seen.