BC Burning

Thanks so much to Mr. Anchovy for inviting me to contribute here. For those of you who don't know me, I live in a very small town called Rossland in the southern portion of British Columbia called the Kootenays. It's a beautiful and geographically diverse area, predominated by alpine mountains, large rivers like the Columbia, and clean, glacier-fed lakes.

Rossland itself is situated on top of a mountain that, way back in the mists of time, was once a volcano. We get tons of snow, and last winter we had a lot of snow, which is good news because the snow pack is what provides us with our water supply. However, we are having an exceptionally hot, dry summer, which is bad news because this means that our forest fire risk is extremely high right now.

Back on July 9, we had a spectacular thunderstorm that, via some wicked fork lightning, ignited several small forest fires within view of our town. They were reported to the forestry service quickly, and soon thereafter we had a lot of water bomber, plane, and helicopter action. It was great to see these fires dealt with in a timely manner.

Not everyone in the area has been so lucky. One of the most pristine, beautiful areas in the Kootenays, the Slocan, is dealing with a large fire that has necessitated the evacuation of several homes near Slocan City. There is also a decent-sized fire near Nelson, another beautiful spot about an hour from here.

The CBC reported yesterday that the Trail area, which is where I live (Trail is 10km down the mountain from Rossland) is having the hottest summer on record. I am not surprised; often the temperature recorded in Trail (admittedly in the hottest part of the city - right downtown in the middle of a cement parking lot) is in the low to mid 40s. I've even seen it as high as 47C. There is no rain in sight. Today, the CBC reports that more houses are on evacuation alert due to the fires in the area, and a ban on all open burning is now in place.

This is by no means the worst fire season in BC. 2003 saw the devastating Okanagan Mountain Park fire, as well as huge fires near Chase and Kamloops - the damage from which can still be seen to day if you're traveling along the Trans Canada in that area.

For those of us who reside in these tinder-dry forested areas of BC, it is so important to exercise caution when out in the woods. No campfires. Don't even put a cigarette out on a hiking trail! Keep your vehicle on the street, because even exhaust can ignite a fire. Obey fire bans. Wait to get your firewood until it's safe - chainsaws can start fires, too.

For more information on how to help prevent our forests from burning, you can visit the BC wildfire prevention page here, and if you're a reader in BC, the forest fire hotline is 1-800-663-5555, or *5555 on your cell phone.