What to take in an evacuation

Wallets packed with credit and bank cards, clothing and passports are the items most evacuees at the River View Campsite and RV Park took with them when they fled the Barnhartvale fire.

The mounted bear, cougar and bobcat remained in the van Thursday morning as the park remained on evacuation alert.

"We collect taxidermy," said Taylor, adding the couple had an hour to pack between when an evacuation alert turned into an order Tuesday night. "We thought, ‘Why not?'"

"It's hard to come by," added Barker.

A computer hard drive and some of the couple's favourite clothes are also among the items still stored in the van.

Other residents stuck pretty close to a list of items the Thompson-Nicola Regional District recommends evacuees take with them.

Liz Cornwell, spokeswoman for TNRD's emergency operations, suggests people take clothing, prescription medication, bank cards and other identification.

Those are just the items Guido Ponne had packed in his suitcases when he left River View.

"I took the basics," said Ponne, adding he expected to be out a couple of days. All 75 residents were allowed to go home by 9:30 a.m. Wednesday.

Ponne said everything is still packed just in case the fire flares up again and people have to flee.

John Kilmar grabbed all of his insurance papers, including house and car. He was confident firefighters would save the mobile home park and didn't feel the need to take too much.

"I took enough clothing to last me a couple of days," he said.