Be Prepared for Summer Weather Events
Climate change increases the likelihood and severity of extreme weather events in British Columbia; such as record-breaking heat waves, devastating wildfires, atmospheric river events and associated flooding, and cold snap we experienced in the last few years.
Museums, galleries, and cultural spaces have important roles to play in keeping their staff, volunteers, and communities safe during extreme weather events.
The BCMA has compiled a list of resources and calls to action that you can use to understand the risk, prepare for these conditions, and know where to access support.
Weather conditions can change rapidly. To stay up to date on weather warnings, please monitor Environment and Climate Change Canada’s weather alerts here. To stay up to date on wildfire warnings, please monitor BC Wildfire alerts here. Extreme weather events can affect the air quality in your area, stay up to date on air quality reports here.
Following the 2021 heat dome, the Province has launched the BC Heat Alert and Response System (BC HARS) to help ensure communities and local governments have the tools they need to stay safe during heat events.
Under BC HARS, the Province is prepared to issue a Broadcast Intrusive alert for extreme heat emergencies. The Province has also published an Extreme Heat Preparedness Guide, Wildfire Preparedness Guide, and Air Quality Health Index.
Take Care of your Staff:
Does your museum have an extreme weather preparedness plan? As we saw during extreme heat events in the summer, temperatures inside museums and cultural spaces can increase dramatically. As Worksafe BC notes, in order to function, human bodies need to maintain a temperature between 36*C and 38*C. When air temperatures near our body temperature, our bodies heat up faster than they can cool themselves. This can result in heat stress which can quickly lead to serious heat disorders, potential injury, or death.
It is important that anyone supervising staff or volunteers during heat events is able to recognize and treat the sign of heat stress. Worksafe BC has a guidebook that offers resources for preventing heat stress at work. It is generally unsafe to work in environments 35*C or above. Consider closing spaces that are prone to trapping heat (i.e. glass-enclosed spaces or attics) during heat events.
Clothing dramatically impacts our ability to mitigate heat so consider not having staff and volunteers dress in interpretive costumes during heat events. Likewise, if your site requires staff or volunteers to wear uniforms, ensure that cooler clothing options are available during heat events. If your site has a costumed mascot, consider developing policies for which temperatures are considered safe to be inside the costume. The National Mascot Association recommends taking both the ambient temperature outside and inside the suit into consideration and developing protocols for maximum performance time in different weather conditions.
Ensure that all staff and volunteers have access to water and shade, are encouraged to stay hydrated, and take regular breaks.
Finally, as we witnessed during previous extreme heat events, it is not always possible to mitigate the impact of extreme heat. If there is any doubt about the safety of your staff and volunteers, close your site. The safety of staff and volunteers should always be the primary focus of any employer.
Extreme heat often goes hand in hand with wildfires. Air quality can be greatly impacted by wildfire smoke, wildfire smoke is a form of air pollution and can affect your health. Exposure to wildfire smoke can aggravate pre-existing respiratory and cardiovascular ailments. Whether your staff works inside or outdoors, steps should be taken to minimize exposure to wildfire smoke. Wildfire smoke is a workplace hazard and must be treated as all other workplace hazards.
Take Care of your Community:
Museums, galleries, and cultural spaces can play an important role in keeping communities safe during weather events.
If your site has air conditioning, tree-covered outdoor spaces, or other cooling facilities, you may want to consider connecting with your local government or First Nation to be listed as an extreme heat relief location for your community. Some BC museums, like the Museum of Surrey, currently function as heat relief locations and/or community cooling centres. While the Province of BC does have a resource page for finding local cooling centres, it directs visitors to consult local governments or First Nations. If you are interested in functioning as a cooling centre, we recommend contacting local or regional governments.
If your site allows, you could also consider hosting outdoor events with sprinklers, misters, or water tables. You may also wish to connect with other local not-for-profits and use a heat event to build new community partnerships while helping people to stay cool.
Air-conditioned spaces offer an escape from outdoor smoke, if your site is air conditioned consider connecting with your community to function as an air-safe space from wildfire smoke.
Take Care of your Site:
Temperature plays an important role in collection management. As the temperatures rise outside, your HVAC system might become taxed or overwhelmed. The Canadian Conservation Institute has environmental guidelines for museums and steps to aid and address incorrect temperatures.
With the increase of extreme weather events, museums are at greater risk to experience a weather related emergency. The BC Heritage Emergency Network (BC HERN) offers training and resources on how to prepare and respond to an emergency situation. Please visit their resource page and consider signing up for an upcoming training opportunity.
How Your Museums Can Prepare for Emergencies:
Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI)
The Canadian Conservation Institute (CCI) offers a hotline for Canada’s heritage community in the aftermath of a fire, flood, earthquake or other catastrophes.
Museums and heritage organizations can call 1-866-998-3721 day or night and press 0 for Security.
During non-working hours, the operator will request the following details from you:
- your name, institution, location, and your telephone number;
- the nature of the collection affected;
- the type, extent, and severity of damage; and
- what action, if any, has been taken so far.
MAP Emergency Assistance
Emergency assistance is available through the Museums Assistance Program to help heritage institutions undertake urgent remedial action to mitigate damage to collections caused by a natural disaster, e.g. forest fire, flood, earthquake, etc. This assistance is available year-round to all incorporated non-profit Canadian museums. Funding for an eligible project can be up to 100% of eligible expenses up to a maximum of $50,000. Institutions facing such a crisis should contact the Museums Assistance Program Team for further information.
BC Heritage Emergency Response Network
The British Columbia Heritage Emergency Response Network (BC HERN) is a growing consortium of institutions in B.C.’s arts and culture sector, who believe that our best line of defence is emergency preparedness, salvage training, and joining forces to support each other.
Webinar: BC HERN - An Introduction to Emergency Response
Learn about the work that the BC Heritage Emergency Response Network is doing around the province.
Webinar: BC HERN and Emergency Salvage of Museum Collections
Hear about documenting a collection in crisis and some of the solutions that can be employed.
Webinar: BC HERN and Emergency Salvage of Art and Archival Collections
Learn how to triage a collection, move, pack, and buy yourself some time in an emergency.
