[herbie]

Meanwhile here the clouds parted momentarily to remind us it was still summer and an hour later it was clouded over 14 degrees and dripping rain.
And an endless line of loaded logging trucks streaming south...

[Hyack]

The temperatures here are still in the high 20s - low 30s with nary a sign of rain for the foreseeable future which is very strange as it always seems to rain sometime during the run of the PNE which ends this weekend....

[herbie]

An entire PNE with no rain... that would be historic!

[Strutz]

Hyack Hyack:

The temperatures here are still in the high 20s - low 30s with nary a sign of rain for the foreseeable future which is very strange as it always seems to rain sometime during the run of the PNE which ends this weekend....

I know! Crazy eh? I used to say that they should start the PNE earlier in the summer since the weather always seems to turn midway through August! This year has been very much unusual with the near complete lack of rain since mid June.
I'm actually quite surprised, considering the dryness, that we haven't had any fires in the local mountains in the Vancouver area aside from the ones around Harrison Lake that are still not completely out. Incredibly fortunate, especially since all available efforts are focused on the interior where it has been devastating this year.

[herbie]

A lot of chatter in the Interior about the response times and procedures. Assessing a fire for a couple days before attacking it, dragging asses over harvesting the dead and fallen wood, claims they work 9 to 5 and have to have meetings for hours before working... even questions why the army's setting up tents for refugees instead of fighting fires (the usual just can't do two things ever mentality)

[BRAH]

herbie herbie:

A lot of chatter in the Interior about the response times and procedures. Assessing a fire for a couple days before attacking it, dragging asses over harvesting the dead and fallen wood, claims they work 9 to 5 and have to have meetings for hours before working... even questions why the army's setting up tents for refugees instead of fighting fires (the usual just can't do two things ever mentality)

The same thing happened in Ft Mac, they talked and talked instead of ordering a complete evacuation until it was two late which left residents unable to get home grabbing personal belongings and pets who were left to die in the Wildfore.

[Mowich]

Just thought I would give everyone an update on our situation which is looking better with every day that comes. We've had a fair amount of rain and that along with much cooler temperatures has helped slow the Ashcroft Reserve aka Elephant Hill fire down a lot, it has been the main source of our constantly smokie skies. Both the Canim and Hawkins fires are considered out and are simply being monitored for any new hot spots from the air, on a daily basis. Our skies have been clear and blue for days now - what a huge blessing. I unpacked two days ago a sign of faith that the worst is over for this year. The long term forecast is for temperatures to remain in the lower double digits and a fair amount of rain to boot. Every day another community has it's evac lifted and folks are going back home. All of us are breathing a bit easier which has nothing to do with the smoke and fires and everything to do with the uncertainty of the situation we faced on a daily basis.

It was the Summer from Hell and one I won't soon forget.......but I have a feeling that it was only a harbinger of things to come.

I want to thank everyone who responded to my posts with their good wishes. It was a good feeling to come here and be able to write about our experience and have such positive feedback. I wish you all the very best.

[housewife]

Great news so glad to hear that things are getting better around you.

[rickc]

Mowich Mowich:

Just thought I would give everyone an update on our situation which is looking better with every day that comes. We've had a fair amount of rain and that along with much cooler temperatures has helped slow the Ashcroft Reserve aka Elephant Hill fire down a lot, it has been the main source of our constantly smokie skies. Both the Canim and Hawkins fires are considered out and are simply being monitored for any new hot spots from the air, on a daily basis. Our skies have been clear and blue for days now - what a huge blessing. I unpacked two days ago a sign of faith that the worst is over for this year. The long term forecast is for temperatures to remain in the lower double digits and a fair amount of rain to boot. Every day another community has it's evac lifted and folks are going back home. All of us are breathing a bit easier which has nothing to do with the smoke and fires and everything to do with the uncertainty of the situation we faced on a daily basis.

It was the Summer from Hell and one I won't soon forget.......but I have a feeling that it was only a harbinger of things to come.

I want to thank everyone who responded to my posts with their good wishes. It was a good feeling to come here and be able to write about our experience and have such positive feedback. I wish you all the very best.

Great to see that you are ok! Its hard to beleive that this has been going on for over two months now. Lessor people (like me) would have thrown in the towel. You are a strong person for making it through this intact. I admire you! I hope things get back to normal for you soon. Good to see you back on the forum. You have been missed.

[herbie]

Worried you'd lost it all when you dropped of the board for a bit!

Government lifted the state of emergency today. Fires are still burning but the cooler wetter weather's here...

[Mowich]

housewife housewife:

Great news so glad to hear that things are getting better around you.

Thank you so much, housewife. How are things in your neck of the woods now? Haven't been paying attention to conditions in Ontario and am wondering if the rains have stopped yet. Hope all is well with you - and thanks again for all your kind words and thoughts.

[Mowich]

$1:

Great to see that you are ok! Its hard to beleive that this has been going on for over two months now. Lessor people (like me) would have thrown in the towel. You are a strong person for making it through this intact. I admire you! I hope things get back to normal for you soon. Good to see you back on the forum. You have been missed.

Thank you rick. Things are definitely getting back to normal around here thanks to a change in the weather. With the lifting of the State of Emergency here in BC, all of us are feeling that the worst is behind us for now.

I know that there are some who have been critical of the way the fire situation was handled but I am definitely not one of them. I understand completely why the Province and Emergency Services acted as quickly as they did when communities were threatened. Their main concern was egress for residents. The ability to get out of the area safely without facing corridors filled with flames and burning material. Anyone who followed the Fort Mac fires and saw what residents faced as they fled for their lives would feel the same way. Sure they may have jumped the gun in certain cases but when lives are at stake, I would much rather err on the side of caution especially when so many of our residents are elderly folks.

I have nothing but praise for firefighters and emergency personnel.

[housewife]

The rain hasn't been to bad around here of late we are back to temperatures in the high 20's plus humidity. With all the drama in my life and non farm drama in my friends life I haven't asked if they ever got any hay in. It was really bad when I was visiting even if the rain stopped the ground water was so high not sure any of the farmers in the area could save their fields this year.

I'm with herbie and rickc just glad to see an update. Hopefully your area will get lots of rain and all the fires will be out soon.

[Mowich]

herbie herbie:

Worried you'd lost it all when you dropped of the board for a bit!

Government lifted the state of emergency today. Fires are still burning but the cooler wetter weather's here...

I would have to say that the worst part of our Summer from Hell was the anxiety due to uncertainty over when the next fire would start, herbie. We were all on tenterhooks hoping that some idiot wouldn't carelessly throw out a butt or decide it was a great time to start a campfire. We were lucky - that's all it came down too.

Now that the State of Emergency has been lifted, the smoke gone from our skies and forecasts of days of rain on the way, we are all grateful and relieved that we here in our small community escaped the worst of the situation. That said, we know that others in our province weren't so lucky and are hearts go out to those who lost everything when fire engulfed their homes, ranches and communities. They are the ones who deserve our prayers and support.

[Mowich]

housewife housewife:

The rain hasn't been to bad around here of late we are back to temperatures in the high 20's plus humidity. With all the drama in my life and non farm drama in my friends life I haven't asked if they ever got any hay in. It was really bad when I was visiting even if the rain stopped the ground water was so high not sure any of the farmers in the area could save their fields this year.

I'm with herbie and rickc just glad to see an update. Hopefully your area will get lots of rain and all the fires will be out soon.

Not good news about the hay fields, housewife especially if the water level in the fields was so high. Hay may be at a premium in parts of Canada now. Our local ranchers not in active fire areas were able to get out and harvest their fields thankfully.

According to the forecast we will be seeing lots of rain in the coming week and very low temps. I woke up to ice on the water in my bird bath this morning and a temp of -3. None of us are complaining too loudly about the abrupt change in weather though.