Two large crates of personal hygiene products were loaded onto a truck in Victoria on Thursday, bound for Kamloops and people forced from their homes by wildfires ravaging B.C.’s Interior. Soap, toothpaste, deodorant, shampoo and mouthwash were among the essentials collected by Soap for Hope through donations from the community. But the charity says it needs more. “We’re making a callout to the community for family-size products because we need large volumes of products to support families, in some cases neighbourhoods and sometimes entire villages,” said Michael Scott Curnes, vice-president of Soap for Hope’s board. “Evacuees were ordered to leave without being able to gather these things up, which are essential not only for human dignity, but also for health and wellness and just helping them get through this very stressful period.” Curnes said. Vancouver Island has been spared the worst of the wildfire activity this summer, but a smoky haze hanging over the region Thursday offered a visible reminder of what is happening hundreds of kilometres away. “We’re all British Columbians. We can easily put ourselves in their shoes,” Curnes said. And while Soap for Hope is sending supplies east, Island animal shelters are preparing for pets displaced by the fires. The B.C. SPCA says shelters in the Interior are making room for animals belonging to evacuees, with the first transfers to Vancouver Island expected later this week. Leon Davis, the SPCA’s manager for Vancouver Island and the Sunshine Coast, said the number of animals arriving is still uncertain. “On those transfers, it could be anywhere up to 15 dogs, 20 cats,” he said. The Island shelters have recently received a surge of donations, so they are not currently accepting pet supplies to be redirected to the Interior. Instead, Davis says financial donations are the biggest need, helping cover the cost of transporting, feeding and caring for the animals. “The transfer program costs a fair amount of money, the management, the feeding, the care of all these animals,” Davis said. About 100 animals have already been taken in through the SPCA’s emergency boarding services during the wildfires. When it is safe to do so, staff are also helping animals left behind as their owners are forced to evacuate.
