I'm Hot and an FIRE ............

[LovelyLadyLux]

Well I'm hot and it seems lots of the Island is on Fire. I am breathing really smoky air now and everything outside is a dull grey. Can't see the sun due to this grey haze.

I was up the north end of the Island working on the house since Saturday morning and as I drove back home this afternoon more and more the air got murky grey with strong smell of smoke. Now that I'm home there is no sign of the sun, there is no wind and the smoke is settling in.

We got major fires going on the north end of the island, directly over on the west coast (the island is long but not wide) and a few other fires down south. Lots of families have been evacuated out of the north end of the Island however I'm not sure where I'd go if I have to leave here as it seems the fires are surrounding us. Guess there would have to be a plan to get to the mainland.

[Horus]

I would start looking for a boat LLL stay safe

[LovelyLadyLux]

I've actually been looking for some sort of mask I can wear outside but now I only have a few painters masks that I guess are better than nothing. USUALLY we get winds however today there are none so the smoke is just hanging in the air giving everything a creepy look. Seems like dusk.......

The water bombers are going but the level(s) of the lakes are also down. They're evacuating people from some areas but not here (yet). Dunno where they'd put us all - the beach? Guess I could go and stand in the swamp behind the house - it still has water but it is low so probably for not much longer.

Will keep you informed of whazzup here and if evacuations are going to start.

[Mad Dilys]

I hope that you and all the other folks involved, residents and rescue service come through this crisis without injury. God bless you and stay safe Inshallah.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Thanks MD. Just woke up to a heavier haze of smoke this morning and not a whiff of air movement at all outside.

The online news has air quality at a level 4 - 5 rating but that is a gov't fixing and the criticism is that nobody from gov't is here to actually see the ash starting to fall and am not sure personally if we actually have the equipment to measure air quality anyway. I mean the gov't only has ONE MRI machine here so am quite skeptical they're keeping something that measures air quality.

Haven't heard any status updates about the fires - hopefully they've been contained.

Personally I'm coughing and sneezing like I'm coming down with a cold so am sure the smoke is having its effect on me.

[LovelyLadyLux]

This is the mantra for today:



Being a firefighter to try and stop forest fires is one of the worst jobs ever. Many men (and I guess women too - feeling the need to be PC) here train to fight the fires that seem to plague us during any dry spells we have here. Fighting fires is some of the hottest, dirtiest, back breaking hard dangerous work that anybody can do. Seeing the animals run before the fire can also be extremely difficult too. Necessary but really awful work but I do appreciate all those guys who do it.

[LovelyLadyLux]

This fellow did a neat video clip on the smoke moving in. Lovely orange sky AND apparently the smoke we're getting here is from fires burning on the mainland and not the two big fires burning here........

http://www.timescolonist.com/news/local ... -1.1990126

(Sorry - I don't know how to make the video clip look like a picture you can click on to watch the smoke moving in)

Done it for you LLL

phpBB [video]

[Jayway]

LLL, you ACTUALLY went to sleep when there was a huge fire burning ? ? Why were you not on the first boat off that island ? Who knows what damage you have done to your lungs ? WHY stay there LLL ?

[LovelyLadyLux]

I'm in about the middle of Vancouver Island on the east coast and/or I'm going north which is about 2/3rds of the way UP the island still to the east coast. There are lots of maps online now that are showing most of BC in RED = "ON FIRE!" Some interesting photos in this URL

http://bcwildfire.ca/hprScripts/Wildfir ... sp?ID=2427

I am still here hacking and coughing and blowing my nose non-stop, staying inside and watching the ash falling and covering everything outside (fine ash on the car and plants and all looking really yuck out there). I really don't know how far I'd have to go to get away from all the smoke as friends in Colorado, USA called me today to nicely request I quit sending our BC Smoke in their direction.

It does seem crazy to stay but not sure where I'd go and am not leaving without taking the rest of the family and they're not leaving cause of work, home etc etc etc. The air quality rating is very poor. Something like 8 now on the scale and all the warnings and advisories are out telling everybody to stay inside, no strenuous activity outside.........Hopefully I'll hack up all this smoke in a week or two once the fires stop.

The GOOD News is that our Gov't signed a contract with a private company that runs Mars Waterbombers (YESSSS!!!!!). Not sure WHY this contract ever lapsed in the first place but we used to have them here.

IF it gets really bad I'll be coming to visit!

[Horus]

IF it gets really bad I'll be coming to visit!

I have just the place for you, a little thatched cottage in Dorset with its own cottage garden

[LovelyLadyLux]

@H - how many of us can it fit? We'll be there soon!

Visually outside seems to be a little better today. Not quite the layer of smoke but not crystal clear either. The military is now in battling the wild fires and seems Canada has been requesting aid from other countries (I think Australia is sending help) to help fight the fires.

Right now in BC, based on current conditions, we're expecting 30 new fires PER DAY. Resources are thin. MOST of these fires seem to be being started by IDIOTS (yup said IDIOTS - don't care about being PC) who are smoking cigarettes and throwing their butts down on the ground or out the window of their cars!

While we are bad the fires in Saskatchewan are SUPER bad. Lots of evacuations there and lots of towns and villages being totally burned down. Red Cross efforts are keeping them in shelters right now.

[LovelyLadyLux]

Usually I'm not crazy about being woke up in the middle of the night but last night about Midnight
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WE GOT RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
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and it has continued to rain all day. Not a torrential down pour but a really steady rain. Not a whiff of smoke in the air!!! It is now almost 8pm here so we're pushing 20 hours of WET

[Horus]

That should damp the smoke down

[LovelyLadyLux]

I took these photos driving up the Island Hwy aka Island Parkway aka NEW Island Hwy (vs OLD Island Hwy - we never seemed to have named this New Highway) but we do have FOUR Lanes now! Two going in each direction so we can actually PASS a slow(er) moving vehicle Our highway makers originally followed a deer path through the trees and I swear the road never went straight for more than 100 meters.

I digress but I took these photos Friday morning on my drive north to my now "fixer upper" house. The smoke was really heavy and everywhere.





I was driving and snapped these photos and while this looks like 'just a fence' it is about 8' high and literally goes for miles and miles. It is to keep the ELK off the road. Hitting a large elk isn't exactly fun and since they travel in herds it can be quite a tragic accident all 'round if the herd happens to run in front of you. I wasn't able to drive and get a photo of the one way gates that are installed every mile or so that allow the elk to run through in one direction only but not back. They're kinda interesting to see.



Just had another shower pass through so my lungs (which were getting real sore) are definitely appreciating the clean air and, am sure, it has now rain enough to put a real damper on any fires that have been burning on the Island. Hopefully they're all out but sometimes tree roots can smolder and suddenly will re-ignite.