
Remains of the Scotch Creek/Lee Creek Fire Hall and Community Center following the Bush Creek East Fire of 2023/via Edward Emberton
As the region works to rebuild following last summer’s devastating fires in the north Shuswap, the Regional District is exploring the idea of rebuilding its fire hall separate from its community centre.
The Scotch Creek/Lee Creek Fire Hall and Community Centre — a single building which was the social heart of the region — was one of the 176 buildings torched during the Bush Creek East Fire.
Acting GM of Community and Protective Services for the Columbia Shuswap Regional District, Derek Sutherland, says there are a number of factors they’re looking at.
“We would have to separate the fire service from the community centre service, which means that we would have to go to a referendum to the community to ask the community whether they want a community hall service or not.”
Sutherland says if they do decide to create a separate fire hall and community centre, local taxpayers will have to pay to do that.

The Scotch Creek/Lee Creek Fire Hall and Community Center before being destroyed by the Bush Creek East fire of 2023/via Edward Emberton
“We’ll have to add money to that,” said Sutherland. “We’ll obviously have to buy land and that sort of thing, but that is the question that we want to ask the community is, do you want a separate community service knowing that there would be an added cost to that.”
If voters in the region reject creating a separate fire hall and community centre, the plan would be to recreate the original building at no additional hit to taxpayers, as insurance should cover the entire cost of the rebuild.
“Which is the default position so if we just had no other information today, we would build back as it was the community hall and the fire hall attached.”
The CSRD’s insurer has yet to finalize the amount the Regional District will be receiving for its claim to the original building.