Winds which help fuel the flames have pushed smoke north and then east with smoke settling into the bottoms of the mountain valleys. Smoke affects the ability of aerial crews to assist with dumping fire retardants and water on the conflagration. Smoke also affects any with breathing problems or other chronic conditions. The very young and very old are at higher risk. People are advised to remain indoors.
The fires are killers as well. Three young firefighters were killed while trying to outrun a firestorm. Their vehicle crashed and they were overtaken. More than 100 structures have been destroyed. President Obama has declared a state of emergency in Washington State. Sources: KHQ CBC News
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Some turned their livestock out to fend for themselves rather than leave them trapped by fences or in barns.
One woman who was forced to flee the firestorm described it to a local newspaper. "It was like a tornado coming — a fire tornado coming up the valley," she said, recalling the moments before their hasty departure. "There was no time. You just have to run."Kelowna Daily Courier While the Rock Creek Fire continues to dominate local news, many other smaller wildfires have consumed people’s homes in other areas of the parched province. Three days ago firefighters were forced to call off the helicopters and aircraft fighting one such fire when someone foolishly chose to fly a drone over the fire, making it unsafe for the aircraft. This was the second incident of this kind this year. BC has registered 1600 wildfires so far this year. Fire season usually starts mid-way through July but because of the drought, it began in May. South of the border, the western US states have been coping with drought and massive wildfires as well. Also at NEWTEKWORLDNEWS: Heat and drought threaten BC salmon runs Western Canada scorched by wildfires Sources: Kelowna Daily Courier Fishing and the surrounding commerce net about one billion Canadian dollars per year in the province. Much of that is on Vancouver Island. The commercial salmon industry is one of the biggest money generators as well. Many of the First Nation people also depend on the return of the salmon each year for a food fishery. Also under threat will be future years’ of salmon returns as the salmon are particular about where they breed and lay their eggs.
Salmon are the lynch pin in much of the ecology of BC. Animals depend on the high protein feast of the returning fish. Bears and wolves take dead fish into the woods to consume and discard uneaten meat and offal to fertilize the forest. When we lose a generation of salmon, the whole ecosystem suffers. Climatologists have warned us that we can expect changes in our weather as the globe heats. Whether some areas experience tornados, torrential rains or drought it has been predicted. But it is a far cry to listen to a prediction and to live it. For us on the west coast of Canada, this summer has been a strange one. Around the world, strange and dangerous weather may be the new normal. Sources: CBC News Marine Science It’s not just trees that burn when the forest burns. Animals that cannot escape die an agonizing death. July sees many of the wild young venturing out with their mothers. They simply cannot move as quickly as the adults and many are lost. Birds that haven’t fledged are lost to fire and those small mammals that dwell in trees or the ground are doomed as well.
People have not been caught in the fire yet this summer, but fatalities among the fire fighters have occurred. Property damage is massive as the fires encroach on settled areas. In BC a particularly destructive fire is burning in the Cariboo at Puntzi Lake. It has destroyed a resort and numerous homes and outbuildings. It’s growth has been exponential since being reported Wednesday at 5 square kilometres. By Friday it had doubled and by Saturday afternoon it was 70 kilometres square and zero percent contained. For the past week people in the Metro Vancouver area and Vancouver Island have been coping with smoky air from the wild fires. The very young and those with breathing difficulties have been advised to stay indoors with windows and doors shut. The cost to all the taxpayers in the province is high. In 2014 the people of BC paid $297.9 million to fight the fires. You might say that the fires are natural(from lightning strikes) and we should expect them every year, but there are indications that the fire situation is getting worse across the province. In 2004, according to provincial statistics, the average fire was 58 hectares. In 2014 the average fire had grown to 248.8 hectares. Is this due to climate change? Is it simply an anomaly? Or this the new normal? Related from June 2015 - Drought on Vancouver Island ups fire risk
Local imams have announced that in order to prevent illness, people may drink water during the day.
In May, extreme heat was responsible for nearly 2000 deaths in India. The body keeps its internal temperature within a narrow range normally. When the ability to maintain a normal range of 37 to 38 degrees Celsius is lost, serious health problems start. A two degree rise will send information to the brain to slow down and fatigue is a symptom. Between 40 and 41 degrees heat exhaustion will causes vomiting, cramps and headaches. If measures are not taken immediately to cool the body, sweating ceases and organ shut down starts with the real possibility of death occurring. |
Barbara McPherson
Blogger, gardener, farmer. Working toward food security and a 30 foot
diet. Addicted to reading. Love this planet, especially my little corner
on Vancouver Island, Canada Archives
October 2016
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