British Columbia Canada on Fire!

[WesternSaw]

Do not know if this should really go here but it does have a lot to do with forestry.There is some bad ass fires burning in British Columbia right now due to the extremely hot and dry summer we have been having this year.It probably compares as nothing to California or Australia,but it is getting pretty scary here.Estimated that between 100 and 150 new fires a day.Presently close to 6 million dollars a day to fight them.I saw on the news that one specific Helicopter they are using on the Lillooet fire is $14,000 an hour not including fuel.Check out bcwildfire.ca if you would like more information

 

[bigbadbob]

It,s very smoky at my cabin right now. The Brookmere fire is about 20k away.
There is an advisory to stay out of the forest and a total fire ban.
Fire rating is extreme.
We are lucky and had two weekends with rainstorms, helped a little, locally.

 

[jimbo@stn23]

Was vacationing there 2 weeks ago near Salmon Arm and it is hot and dry with no breaks, my family is still there "enjoying" 30+C heat each day. The crews jumped on a little burner just a mile or so from where we were last week. The day before I went out I was reading where on July 12 or so, firefighters extinguished 22 campfires in the Southeast fire district of BC which likely led to the fireban on Friday the 17th.

We've had some impressive lightning on just the other side of the rocks but our forest has stayed quite damp. Has been a long while since I've seen green grass this late in summer.

 

[Dave Hadden]

Here's a couple of pics of the Terrace Mountain fire, somewhere near Kelowna I think.

First one shows the fire approaching up the backside of the hill towards the lake.
The second was taken about 20 minutes later and you can see the fire now on this side of the hill.
That was three days ago.
I think there are over 700 fires burning now with over 40 on Vancouver Island.
Mostly small but some are in really difficult territory where it's literally impossible to put men on the ground.
Cooler today and we're hoping for some relief via rain soon.
No guarantee though.

Take care.

 

[deeker]

Wow, that is not good.

Looks like a pending evacuation. Hope it is suppressed before the homes are damaged.

 

[Roy M]

We were in the Okanagan valley on the weekend, the truck was dusted with fly ash and my wife noticed difficulty breathing. We watched a helicopter working the Brookmere fire, that is scary in thick smoke. Worst fire season in recent memory and not letting up.

 

[stihlavarna]

been a fire ban here in the lower mainland for at least 6 weeks, with the recent hot summer thats fine with me..... we also had bad lightning around here, there was a fire up at blackcomb mountain (Whister) cause of it.

 

[WesternSaw]

British Columbia Burning!

Well they have made progress with the Lillooet fire that is on the mountain above the town. Last night and the night before they used what I think is called a back burn,to set fires so the fire that is advancing has no fuel in it's path.Helicopters with buckets dangling below the chopper carrying jet fuel and some sort of additive that turns the fuel into a flaming gel,depositing the fuel in the fires path,very impressive sight to see it on the news.There may be a slim chance that the towns evacuated residents may return sooner than expected.Locally still see people throwing cigarette butts out the car or truck window.Unbelievable!
Lawrence

 

[1I'dJak]

just got a call from the last company i was forestry climbing with asking me if i wanted to go fight fires up in bella coola....frickin bella coola's on fire and that's in the rainforest! 41 degrees there last week. Anyways the pay was $32/hr as a contractor and about 12 hr days... if i didn't have work lined up I'd go...Good luck and my respect to all those that are in the thick of things...