Threat Of Wildfires Causing British Columbians Increased Anxiety

A heat warning remains in place for much of eastern Vancouver Island.

A heat warning remains in place for much of eastern Vancouver Island.

Environment Canada issued the warning earlier this week saying the cooling trend will start to take shape on Saturday.

Meanwhile, heat and the threat of wildfires are causing British Columbians increased anxiety and worry, leading to more calls being made to 1-800-SUICIDE and the province-wide mental health support line.

The BC Crisis Line Network says calls to the mental health crisis line and suicide intervention line frequently increase during heatwaves.

Spokesperson, Asha Croggon, says there was an increase last year during the heat dome and the devastating wildfires, and the trend is continuing this year, up 10 to 25 percent, depending on the region.

She says that is on top of the increased call volume and complexity of calls since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Rural and remote communities are especially impacted by the recurring threats from heatwaves and wildfires as they try to cope with the trauma caused by last year’s wildfire that ravaged the Village of Lytton and other areas of BC.

The BC Crisis Line Network, comprised of 10 local crisis centres from around BC, answers calls to 1-800-SUICIDE, 310-6789 Mental Health, and regional distress lines.

The centres provide lifesaving crisis de-escalation services, suicide risk assessment, and strengths-based collaborative safety planning and follow-up.