June 5, 2023 Smoke On The Water

My stomach sank and I felt a raw tinge of fear in my bones when I walked out of the door and sniffed the morning air. The smell of smoke wafted into my senses. 

With the amazingly warm temperatures has come the nemesis we all dread.

Fire.

Only weeks after Alberta was battling huge blazes in the northern part of the province and days after the east coast fought the same battle, BC has come face to face with a battle of our own. It is a battle we should not be faced with. There has been nothing but sunshine for weeks, no storms have battered our area and lightning has been non-existent.

How can we have a forest fire burning in the hills above Peachland?

Human stupidity is how. Or is it something worse? Is there a firebug in our beloved valley setting our forest ablaze? How and why could this be happening? 

It is the one burning question.

I set out on my boat and stared in fear and distress as a cloud of smoke erupted into the blue sky. Smoke drifted to the valley below and touched the lake as if reaching into the water. 

Is there an arsonist at work in our home? There have been too many fires lit in the last few years not to discount the possibility. What can we do to prevent it?

I dread the thought of another smoke-filled summer. 

It’s only the beginning of June and already the temperature has exceeded thirty degrees Celsius on more than one day. The forest is tinder dry and there is no relief in sight. Part of me revels in the hat temperatures and sunshine. The rest feels a dread inside my soul. The last time we had a June this warm, our valley filled with smoke in the middle of July and never left until the temperatures cooled in late August. 

I’d rather have a rain-soaked June and clear skies in July. But we should be able to have a mix of both. The best of both worlds so to speak. 

Humans are inherently stupid when it comes to preventing wildfires. At least I hope it’s mere stupidity. The other idea is a scary one to contemplate.

Is there a firebug on the loose? 

All any of us can do is be vigilant. Put out your fires all the way, soak the ground with water, and bury it with dirt. And watch for signs of smoke in the woods.

Before there is smoke on the water.