Wildfires: How to talk to your kids about emergency evacuations

One emergency physician recommends that parents take care of their own mental health, keep their kids informed about potential relocations and remain patient.

If you’re feeling the stress of evacuating your home during the country’s current wildfire emergency, your child likely is too, says one doctor.

A state of emergency was declared in West Kelowna, B.C. Thursday. Residents of Yellowknife, the capital of the Northwest Territories, had until noon MT on Friday to evacuate as smoke continues to billow in the area.

This is Canada’s worst-ever wildfire season with more than 1,000 active fires burning across the country, including 265 in the Northwest Territories.

More than 4,800 properties are under an evacuation alert due to the encroaching McDougall Creek wildfire in Kelowna, with “significant structures” already destroyed by the flames.

Dr. Courtney Howard is an emergency physician based in Yellowknife and the vice chair of the Global Climate and Health Alliance. She says the best way to ensure a child remains as calm as possible during a potential evacuation is for parents to take care of their own mental health.

“The most important thing to know is that kids really pick up on parental emotion. The more the parents can do to achieve their most calm, the better,” Howard told Global News.

Sleep is one factor that can make a difference for handling uncertainty, though it may be hard or sometimes impossible to come by during an emergency. Howard says parents should also try to avoid springing distressing events on kids by keeping them informed as much as possible.

“If you think you might need to evacuate, tell them that ahead of time,” she says. “Say: ‘There is a fire coming. The plan is that we may need to evacuate. When that happens, we will bring this package of things.’”