Squamish & Whistler partnering to create a Sea to Sky evacuation plan

Two communities in the Sea to Sky region are working together to create a joint evacuation plan, in case the need ever arises for a mass evacuation.

While both Whistler and Squamish each have evacuation plans, they only take into account moving people within the community’s jurisdiction and not out of the municipality/district entirely.

This week the Resort Municipality of Whistler (RMOW) issued a Request for Proposal (RFP) for the ‘Sea to Sky Corridor Multimodal Transportation Evacuation Plan’. The RFP is for consultants to develop a plan for how both Squamish and Whistler would be evacuated in part or in their entirety if necessary. The plan would include hazards in the Sea to Sky corridor that would warrant an evacuation, numbers of people that may need to leave, especially those without transport, capacity of safe means of travel, as well as a communication protocol.

The RFP states that both communities’ limited access and egress is of particular concern during an emergency that would require the entire population of one or both communities to evacuate. The plan would need to address at how existing infrastructure such as roads, rail, air and ferries could be utilized in the case of a widespread evacuation.

Whistler is working as the lead agency on the partnership and staff at the (RMOW) say a plan is unlikely to be completed until at least the end of the year, when it would then be presented to council.