The last week or ten days much has been in the news about Yellowknife which is the capital of the Northwest Territories. The population of Yellowknife was evacuated. That's 20000 people who had to take a two lane highway. There were fires along the way and it's such a long distance that you make sure that you fill the gas tank at the few gas stations.
These people made it to various places in Alberta where accommodation was available. 3000 came to my home town of Red Deer . Finding accommodation was difficult as other areas had been evacuated from other fires.
Hay River has also been evacuated.
Now these places are a very long way from me.
Driving to Yellowknife from Red Deer is 1602 km ( 995 mi). Driving time is 16 1/2 hours. The direct line from Red Deer to Hay River is 958 km (595 mi). It's 772 miles by car.
So you see that these areas are along way away.
However, there are fires between Red Deer and those fires.
Now in the cities we have to worry about fires in the urban forest. This city is heavily treed and wildfire is a definite probability.
We've been fortunate to not have too much smoke.
So I am safe but quite worried as to what will happen as the fire season continues.
In the 1960's I visited both Yellowknife and Hay River a number of times. I drove to Hay river twice and flew into Yellowknife many times.
I have a brother-in-law who lives in High Level(four trips- two at Christmas and two during the summer), we clocked it at 1060 kilometers. . That two-lane road from Valleyview to Peace River, then to High Level is especially scary during the winter.
ReplyDeleteI did that road in 1965 at night! Pretty scary. Got to Hay River about 5 AM
DeleteThank you for that update and putting matters into perspective, which our news outlets have failed to do. To be honest they seem to have lost interest in the story at the moment.
ReplyDeleteTo be honest, I don't think it has to be in the news all the time. It's important news for us.
DeleteWhen it comes to Canada, I don't even bother asking about proximity to the wildfires as your country is so large and the bulk of the population so skewed to the south.
ReplyDeleteThe only reason I know where Hay River is due to a book I read about a fellow who boated by there on his way to the Artic ocean and wrote about it. I never knew where Red Deer was until this morning when I googled it up on a map to see its proximity to Hay River.
I went up the Mackenzie river from Tuktoyaktuk to Hay river. It was 1011 miles. I had a river chart for navigation.
DeleteNatural disasters cause so much disruption, displacement, inconvenience, cost et al. It's a growing problem.
ReplyDeleteI'm glad you're ok
You're certainly right about natural disasters.
DeleteUnbelievably worrying times.
ReplyDeleteNow the forecast predict wild fires in the winter.
DeleteThose wildfires are scary. Prayers to all those who had to leave their homes. I hope you continue to stay safe. Take care, have a happy day!
ReplyDeleteWe are away from the large wildfires but now there are urban forests and they could light and go through the subdivision.
DeleteMy goodness. I haven't been keeping up very well. What a pickle, to say the very least.
ReplyDeleteFires move quickly.
DeleteI didn't realize you are so far from Yellowknife. It's tragic how many people and animals are being displaced and their habitat destroyed.
ReplyDeletePeople are displaced but must carry on somehow. School will start late. People are away from jobs.
DeleteGlad you are safe, Red. Have there been wildfires like this every year or is this a new catastrophe? I don't remember that we ever had Canada smoke in Illinois before like we did this year.
ReplyDeleteThere are always wild fires but now they are far more intense and much larger. they burn for a larger part of the year.
DeleteBecause we live on an island and it is not all that large even adding Scotland and Wales to the equation, we tend to forget just how vast your country is. Distances are unimaginable as we discovered during our fairly frequent visits over your neck of the woods. I hope you manage to keep well clear of the fires where you are,
ReplyDeleteWe are far away from the fires and live in an agricultural area.
DeleteI wish we could share the rain we’ve had this summer. Our worry now is hurricanes.
ReplyDeleteI would take all the rain I could get. Our annual precipitation is 12 in
DeleteI feel bad for all those people who have to evacuate their homes, it must be devastating for them.
ReplyDeleteYour whole life is uprooted and put on hold. Now school starts so that's going to be a problem they'll look after later.
DeleteWe have had smoke here from both Canadian fires and Washington fires. I am now nervous about brush fires starting along the freeway here in the city. It's still very dry here.
ReplyDeleteUrban forests are a concern about wildfires.
DeleteWow. That is a long haul, isn't it? I guess that I didn't realize the distance between the spots, with all that 'blank space' in between them. I hadn't realized how isolated your part of the world can be. It reminds me of the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. Very remote. I remember back in 1992 or thereabouts, what big news it was that the peninsula had full phone coverage. People used to drive 30 miles to use the phone.
ReplyDeleteMost of the population lives within 200 miles of the border. then there's the huge boreal forest and then tundra and arctic.
DeleteToo many fires, too many fires! Stay safe.
ReplyDeleteThere doesn't seem to be too much they can do about wildfires.
DeleteLate summer fire season there and here. The smoke is already hanging over the coastal mountain range here. Our air quality is inching up into not so good zone. Stay safe there, Red.
ReplyDeleteOur season stated back in April this year.
DeleteThe wildfire situation across Canada is very bad this year, isn't it? I'm glad you're safe, and feel for those who have had to be evacuated.
ReplyDeleteAfter the fires here in NS in the spring, we've been dealing with rain, rain and more rain. But it's filling the water tables and drenching the ground, and I'm not complaining (which is easy because I didn't have any flooding, unlike other folks).
There's been some major flooding in your area so you're lucky to not have any damage.
DeleteThe constant and increasing wildfires is definitely concerning. I've been watching the news not only of the devastation in BC but in the NWT and AB and elsewhere like Maui. So much destruction and loss of lives and homes. Thankfully you are safe but I understand what you mean about urban forest and it's pitfalls.
ReplyDeleteAs you say these fires are very concerning.
DeleteIt's been a bad summer for that.
ReplyDeleteAs you know, I have been to your country many times. As a farmer my dear husband always said that had he been younger he would have considered moving to such a wonderful country as yours. Travelling across Canada by train certainly gave me some idea of what a vast country Canada is.
ReplyDeletewe have been listening about the wild fires across the many countries of the world dear Red . i feel sad and sorry for such threat occurring close to people ,this is relief that places have evacuated already .
ReplyDeleteglad that you are fortunate to not received it in your area
may God keep all safe
It is getting real dry here , I am worried about fires too...hot today:(
ReplyDelete