Surrey’s evacuee centre scaling back service

Surrey’s reception centre for wildfire evacuees has seen over 3,400 people registered at the Cloverdale Arena on 176th Street.

However, with costs mounting and fewer people needing help, the centre will now only be open for four hours on weekdays and will be closed on weekends.

Surrey’s deputy fire chief Mark Griffioen says no one has needed shelter at the hockey rink yet but, with the weather heating up, they are prepared in case the need ramps up again

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“We’ll have to re-access that and do the best we can to provide regular service but at the same time supporting the evacuees,” he said. “We have the capability, the staff, the training and now the experience as well.”

Griffioen also says they may need to change the location of the centre as ice is slated to be installed in the arena in the next few weeks to get ready for hockey tryouts.

There are currently 138 wildfires burning in B.C. right now and there is some concern that the fires could spark up again as temperatures are expected to reach the mid-30s in the coming days.