Former Harrison Hot Springs mayor eyes return to public service

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After Wood’s resignation in June 2024, the village held a by-election in which Mayor Fred Talen cruised to victory, beating longtime village resident John Allen.

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Wood’s resignation letter in June 2024 thanked village officials and members of the public.

“Please accept this as my official notice of resignation effective end of today,” a message on the village website stated. “I personally would like to thank both the Corporate Officer and the Chief Financial Officer for their professionalism during our time together, they have demonstrated integrity, respect, and accountability of which I hold strong to. To the members of the public, it has been an honour to be your Mayor.”

Wood had issued a state of emergency declaration almost unilaterally in May 2024 due to what he called an increased risk of wildfires across the province and in the Harrison area. Wood said there was a “significant threat of an interface fire and imminent threat to the loss of life and property.”

“This is a challenging, uncertain and stressful time for our province,” Wood said in the state of emergency declaration. “We are experiencing an increased risk of interface fire due to rainfall levels being at half the usual average, drier than normal conditions, low snowpack levels and a forecast of above seasonal temperatures.”

Wood says bureaucracy and inaction of village council had hindered the village’s efforts to clear the East Sector area of fuel. Harrison Hot Springs is located in a valley that is heavily treed on both sides. Threatening wildfires appear to be starting earlier and earlier each year in the province, Wood said, and it was imperative to change the way the village approaches emergency management.

“There have been seven local fires this year,” Wood previously said in 2024. “With no secondary evacuation route in place and no fuel management having taken place to date, there is a need for emergency coordination in order to manage this risk.”

The state of emergency was cancelled the very next day on May 22 at the request of the Ministry of Emergency Management and Climate Readiness.

In spring 2023, Mayor Wood was ecstatic when the village received nearly $6 million for waterfront infrastructure upgrades that he said would help construct a dike and protect the town on the banks of the Harrison Lake from flooding.

“It is long overdue and it is just fantastic news,” he told Fraser Valley Today. “This is for flood mitigation. It will protect the whole village. I have been fighting for this for years to see monies come through. I’m speechless and ecstatic. I don’t think anybody believed the funding would come through, so this is a surprise. I thank [MP] Brad Vis for that. He’s a great man.”

Wood said there are areas along the waterfront where the dike is 3/4 of a metre lower than when it was originally designed for in 1948.

“The dike will go the whole waterfront,” Wood pointed out. When asked about a timeline, Wood said, “It will take months [before it starts] because we’ll go into a public open house. It will affect the appearance of the waterfront. We got to make sure it works with everybody so that we have the most effective way of building a dike, achieved at the most economical cost, and keeps the beauty of our surroundings at check.”