Cal's Journal

The last few weeks have flown by in a flash of smoke, flames, and landslides. Summer 2023 will undoubtedly go down as one to remember. For some, it may be one they’d sooner forget.  The heat and sunshine warmed our valley and I never wanted to end. But in the back of my mind, I had anxiety and worry. When would the smoke come? When would fire strike? I never thought it would come so close to home. Yet we Read more…

“My house is gone. My mom’s property burned, and five out of six buildings were burned down. The fire destroyed the whole place.” The man’s words haunted me. He was surprisingly calm, for someone who’d lost everything to fire. A fire that ripped through parts of West Kelowna and up the Westside until it stopped after burning Okanagan Resort to the ground. Fire. It was like nothing I’d ever seen in my lifetime. Something that haunted me inside. I had Read more…

I stood at the top of my road and stared at the raging flames in the distance. A deep pit hung inside and I turned to my wife and friends that were sharing the apocalyptic view.  “It’s like a warzone.” I’m not sure who made the comment, it may have been me. It didn’t matter, we all agreed, it was a war—a war against the rages of nature. A war until now our brave firefighters had been losing.  But the Read more…

Winds continued to howl as the morning sun shone through the smokey haze. I stared out my window, hoping that the devastation from the previous night was some kind of nightmare. It was a nightmare, only far too real. The Okanagan was ablaze. Yet looking out my window the smoke in the distance was the only hint at the tragedy which was unfolding only a few kilometres away.  The wind continued to push the fire northward. Like a hungry predator, the Read more…

I saw the smoke billowing above my beloved city. I deep ache pulsed through my body, and a tingling fear encircled my spine. The thing we all fear the most has come to our valley.  Fire! Only a week after wildfires consumed parts of Hawaii and in the middle of the worst fire season on record a fire rages out of control. Only ten kilometres from my home. And I’m one of the lucky ones.  The wind began around four Read more…

I sit and listen to the hold music. Anxiety and anger take turns surging through me. The hold music makes me want to scream or worse, throw my phone across the room.  You have all been there I’m sure. Placing a call to a bank, phone company or the government often results in long waits on hold. Today it has been 1:55 minutes and counting. The longer it goes the more frustrated I feel. I have heard the canned message Read more…

The morning heat warmed the valley. Okanagan Lake had a slight chop and the breeze kept the temperatures from being unbearable. There couldn’t be a better way to spend the day than trolling the deep waters between Peachland and Rattlesnake Island. My guests arrived for their fishing tour a few minutes late. They were full of energy and excited to be on the water. Smiles all around we set out from the dock in front of the Blind Angler Restaurant. Read more…

The wind blew in steady gusts across the mountains and through the valley. White caps of water crested the lake. I spoke to the people sitting in Peachland watching the water and asked if they wanted to go on their tour or wait until another day. They’d wait for the next day and avoid the chance of a rough ride on the lake. The afternoon wound down and so did the wind. Captain Rob had a tour to Peachland for Read more…

Kaydee thought that her birthday celebration was fantastic. She and a group of her girlfriends went out on her husband Barrman’s boat for an evening cruise on her birthday. Her 60 years on planet Earth have gone so fast, now she was celebrating another milestone birthday with her mom. But don’t tell anyone that her mother was turning 90. All their lives they have celebrated their birthdays two days apart. Yet they have celebrated in completely different ways. Mom never Read more…