Active Alerts:
Community Engagement
Out in the Community

Welcome to Emergency Management Cowichan’s community engagement page. We believe that community engagement is an essential component of emergency management. By working together with our community, we can better prepare for, respond to, and recover from emergencies and disasters.

Here are some of the ways that we are engaging with our community:

  1. Community Emergency Preparedness Workshops: We offer workshop / presentations throughout the year to help individuals and families prepare for emergencies. These workshops cover topics such as creating a family emergency plan, building an emergency kit, and understanding the risks in our region.
  2. Community Outreach: We attend community events and meetings to provide information about emergency preparedness and to answer any questions that community members may have. We also work with Local schools, and community groups, providing education about emergency preparedness.
  3. Social Media: We use social media platforms such as Facebook, and Twitter to share information and updates about emergencies and risk reduction. We encourage community members to follow us on social media to stay informed about emergencies in our region.
  4. Emergency Notification: We use a mass notification system, Cowichan Alert, to send alerts and updates to residents during emergencies. Residents can sign up for this service and select the best ways they can be reached (text, landline phone call, email, mobile app, home application, etc.): SIGN UP NOW
Volunteering

Emergency Management Cowichan Volunteer: We offer training for volunteers to become members of our EMC Volunteer Team. These volunteers are trained to assist during emergencies and disasters, supporting evacuees, the emergency operations centre and emergency responders. Community engagement is essential for building a resilient community.

Learn more about our
Upcoming Events & Webinars

Current Burning Permissions
Open burning—or burning outdoors—is allowed when the wildfire risk is low and can be a useful tool when conducted responsibly. Open burning includes Category 1 campfire, Category 2, and Category 3 open fire.
CATEGORY 3
CATEGORY 2
CATEGORY 1 CAMPFIRE
FIRE BAN
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Regional Water Use Restrictions
During drought conditions, your water system operator may introduce water use restrictions to conserve limited water supplies. There are four stages of water restrictions which are coordinated across the Cowichan Valley. Local conditions may sometimes require a higher stage of water restrictions on certain systems.
No Restrictions
Stage 1 Restrictions
Stage 2 Restrictions
Stage 3 Restrictions
Stage 4 Restrictions
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