B.C. mayor warns residents of 'false' fire marshals going door-to-door

The mayor of a central B.C. city is warning residents about "fake" fire marshals going door-to-door, falsely telling people there are wildfire evacuation alerts in place.

On Tuesday, Quesnel Mayor Bob Simpson posted on Facebook about the "disturbing" reports. More than 14,000 people provincewide have been forced from their homes by wildfire this week, but as of Wednesday, there were no evacuation alerts or orders in Quesnel.

Simpson said he spoke with a woman over the weekend shortly after she dealt with one of the fake officials.

"Her daughter was at home andthis 'fire marshal' had knocked on the door, said they were on an alert and to be prepared. So the mum got a phone call from the daughter and came whipping home, then phoned me directly."

"We realized, after talking to the RCMP as well, we had a situation and we needed to let people know what was going on."

Simpson said the woman told him the impersonator was dressed in black with a high-visibilityvest on top.

"It certainly feels as though these are individuals scoping out the fringe area for inappropriate reasons," the mayor said."Unfortunately,we always have peopletaking advantage of emergency situations."

No door-knocking for alerts, only orders

Officials do not go door-to-door for evacuation alerts. They will only do so when an official order is in place.

"If you get a knock from someone saying there's an alert, that should set you off right away," Simpson said.

When an order does come down, residents should see a uniformed RCMP or peace officer on their doorstep. A peace officer could be a bylaw or conservation officer, but Simpson said they will be clearly in uniform.

• Find a list of evacuation alerts and orders here

Residents can also check their regional district website to confirm where there are orders. For Quesnel, that's the Cariboo Regional District site.

Anyone who believes they've had a false marshalat their door is asked to call RCMPat (604) 992-9211. CBC News has reached out to the Quesnel detachment for comment.