Residents of a large encampment on forested Crown land above Peachland, B.C., are being ordered to leave after the province issued dozens of 14-day eviction notices to squatters living at the site.
The encampment has grown significantly over the past year, raising concerns among nearby residents and local officials about wildfire risk and environmental contamination.
“On one hand, disappointed that those people need to do this, because where do they go?” said Peachland Mayor Patrick Van Minsel. “On the other hand, I did see the danger to our town. We cannot have this. It’ll be a very dry season, so we need to be very vigilant.”
The camp is located near Trepanier Creek, where concerns have also been raised about sewage contamination.
Residents living nearby say they have been asking various levels of government for help for months.
“Everybody is wiping their hands clean of it and it doesn’t matter where we turn or where we go, it’s not our responsibility,” said a nearby resident in an earlier interview on April 2.
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Van Minsel said he first became aware of the encampment in March and brought the issue to the attention of provincial officials.
“Although it’s not our jurisdiction, we promised them to do the necessary steps to help them,” Van Minsel said.
The site contains roughly 20 RV trailers, along with discarded furniture, old boats, vehicles and piles of garbage.
The B.C. Natural Resource Officer Service attended the site Tuesday to issue eviction notices.
The province said officials will return after the two-week deadline to determine whether enforcement action is necessary.
In the meantime, support services are being offered to those living at the encampment.
In a statement, the Ministry of Housing and Municipal Affairs said, “Community Integration Specialists have been engaging with people near Trepanier Creek to help connect them to financial assistance and local services.”
Business operators near Penticton’s Fairview homeless encampment say they are encouraged to see action being taken in Peachland but are calling for a similar response in their community.
Multiple fires have broken out at the Fairview camp over the past three years, including a recent blaze that spread onto property belonging to Inland Truck and Equipment.
“If they’ve raised enough of a fuss like the residents of Peachland, then I guess we just keep squeaking until we get grease here too, I suppose,” said Luke Bradley, truck sales consultant at Inland Truck and Equipment
Last year, a fire at the Penticton encampment spread and destroyed two RV trailers at Leisureland RV Centre.
A provincial injunction application seeking to dismantle the camp remains before the courts, but with no hearing date scheduled, frustration among nearby businesses continues to grow.
“What more do we got to do here,” Bradley said.
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