Wednesday, July 19, 2017

WILD FIRES

      At the present time there are many wildfires in British Columbia, the province to the west of us. At one time they said there were 176 fires burning. It's been hot, dry and windy... so perfect  conditions for wildfires.

      About 40000 people have been ordered out of their homes and 15000 more are on standby. Some homes and property have been burned.

      The area ranges from heavy bush to open range land and then there are farming areas in the river valleys. 

      So it's challenging for firefighter and residents. There's no relief in sight at the present time.

      Now I live about  600 km from the fires. We've had westerly winds so the smoke has blown into Alberta. Air quality rates from 3 -10. Now the smoke is quite high.

      I live midway between Edmonton and Calgary.


Affected area map



     I took these photos from my yard just a few minutes before 7:00 PM. The sky is not cloudy. The dullness is caused by smoke. I was just lucky to get the sun in my photo as you couldn't see it on the viewfinder.






33 comments:

  1. I hope the fires stay away from you. I hear Yosemite is on the verge of being engulfed in flames. So sad.

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    1. We are far away from these fires but fires could start here too.

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  2. I am extremely sorry for the loss of people who have to leave their home, I can imagine the seriousness and dread of the situation.
    I wish government can take some extra appropriate steps to avoid such destruction.
    I am glad Red that you are little away from this and heartiest prays that my all this resolve soon and may God keep you in his safty and blessing amen.
    Wonderful photos though made me sad

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    1. Most fires are started by lightning. Some start from people's carelessness.

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  3. It's crazy how easy they spread. My area had some last year but it was due to some idiot being "bored"

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    1. There's lots of stuff in today's forests that is very burnable.

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  4. There's nothing funny I can say about this. It's tragic which ever way you look at it. It will take a long time for Nature to heal these wounds.

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    1. However, when burns occur it prevents burns later on. Yes there's destruction but it's a cycle except when humans start the fires.

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  5. That must be so frightening to have a bushfire so close. Hope they will manage to get it extinguished soon.

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    1. They are being cautious and moving people out while they can.

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  6. It a horrid situation on all accounts.

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  7. It seems that the western part of the U.S. Is not alone with its fire dangers. Hopefully, there will not be as much property loss in your area, Red.

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    1. My son is in Reno now and he says they have fires and lots of smoke. These fires are 500 km away from me. I only get the smoke.

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  8. Wow! That's really degraded air quality, for sure. I hope they don't get any closer. I have family in Olds. :-)

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    1. Olds will be suffering the same thing.

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  9. Ugh. Do you have to take any special precautions because of the smoke? I hope some rains arrive to help fight those fires.

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    1. If the air condition gets very bad we are advised to stay indoors. The area where the fires are is a very dry area.

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  10. Replies
    1. Will do, but I'm a long way from the fires.

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  11. Heavens above. I have friends in Calgary But hadn't heard of the fires.

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    1. Calgary is getting the same amount of smoke.

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  12. The smoke from forest fires can have an influence a long way away. A few weeks back I picked up a coffee table book done by three firefighters out of Fort Mac, with photos taken during their fight against that monster.

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    1. And the influences last for a long time on the landscape and people.

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  13. Hope the situation improves and there is no fatalities. It's tragic for everyone. Stay safe!

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    1. So far no fatalities. They move the people out while the fire is 5 km away.

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  14. The BC fires are horrendous. We know it is just a matter of time before we have more fires cropping up here in Washington state as well. We are in a long dry spell with no rain in sight. August could be bad.

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  15. Very, very tragic. It's scary how quickly these fires spread.

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  16. It's terrible to breathe that smoky air. A few years ago we got smoke from Canadian fires and it made your eyes water and throat burn. I hope yours are out soon.

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  17. The smoke really travels, doesn't it? I remember the Quebec forest fires a couple of decades ago - we could smell the smoke on the east coast for days. I can't imagine how awful it must be to be in the middle of it all.

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  18. Very unfortunate. I remember from our several trips to B.C. there was controversy about "clear cutting" and wonder if that method with all the "slash" left behind contributes to the fires?

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  19. We can still see smoke some days, the sunsets are orange. I hope they get the fires out soon :)

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