scilly

There 2 deaths reported, but not officially confirmed ........... a young man said his parents hid in a hole being dug for sewer work, told him to cover the hole with plywood, and get away himself. He ran to the train tracks, was lucky enough to be safe there, but saw a burning tree fall over the hole where his parents were hiding.

I can't find the original story that was in the paper edition this morning. The latest update online is .....

https://vancouversun.com/news/local-...ravaged-lytton

caretaker

We have a fire up north that has burned it's way around a uranium mine. They're lighting backfires to deter it, and they evacuated 3/4 of their employees, and some of the roads are cut off, but the official line is everything is safe, no dangerous stuff above ground, it's fine. Ok, sounds legit.
https://globalnews.ca/news/7999047/w...-saskatchewan/

scrubbedexpat091

The importance of cars in these fire situations really comes to light, not just the Lytton fire but in general. Those without cars really can't escape in quick need when a fast moving fire approaches.

Siouxie

Very sad.... https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/briti...fire-1.6088297

BristolUK

As someone who can't drive I was thinking about this and I thought that if you couldn't drive you'd likely not be living somewhere that was at risk. I mean if you can function without a car you're probably not living somewhere so isolated and in danger.

Of course there might be some, like a couple, with only one driver and one dies, leaving the non driver as survivor. But aren't you looking at how viable that situation is?

scrubbedexpat091

You might be surprised how many in smaller communities don't drive or own a car.

While Lytton is small, places like West Kelowna, parts of Kamloops, and other towns and city's in the interior are still at risk from fires.

Before we moved into our current place the last place in West Kelowna could easily end up in the path of a fire and has in the past, can still see the burn scars from a fire several years ago, only about 1km away from our building.

scrubbedexpat091

Not BC related, but video on PG&E and their wildfire problem and what they are doing to fix it without having to cut power for days.

Shard

That's a shocking picture. Glad you are safe.

scilly

I knew quite a few people up in the small communities where we had our cabin.

There was a Community Bus which linked smaller communities to the immediate north and south with the "large" town (~5,000 pop.), but the communities to the west and east were not served. People walked, or were given lifts by neighbours.

The bus ran about 3 times a day, week days, and had a bout 3 stops in town ...... one at the grocery store and little mall at the north end of town, one at the grocery store and little indoor (!!) mall at the south end, and one other place that I never did see (possibly the hospital).

There's a huge community spirit in most small places.

I don't drive, which is one of the things my daughter hated when we bought the cabin so far from anywhere.

scilly

I could also point out that Vancouver itself is under a possibility of fire. The Fire Chief issued warnings this morning for people to be careful with cigarette butts, BBQs in parks or beaches (or when throwing away the ashes from charcoal or wood), etc etc. The chance of fire is at Very High to Extreme.

We are in a drought situation, everything is tinder dry, we have the most street trees in (I understand) all of North America, we have Stanley Park plus parks all over the city that are all well used, but dry.

After all, think of all the California places that have burnt in recent years. I think San Bernardino has been under serious threat several times.

I remember this one well .......................

2003

from:-
https://www2.gov.bc.ca/gov/content/s...ical-wildfires

This happened the same year, just across the mountain range from where we had our cabin. We could the smoke, and listened to the radio regularly for updates.

When we take to train to Jasper or further east, the tracks run through the area of this fire, which can still be clearly seen. New vegetation is appearing, but the trees are small, even after almost 20 years. You can see how the fire spread up to and over the mountain to the west side of the Thompson River, and up to and over the top of the mountain on the east side.

scrubbedexpat091

Squamish has always concerned me, town sits in a valley, and if there is ever a major fire on the mountains on north side of town, it could easily move through a good chunk of the town, south side is still risk too, but there is at least a river and Howe Sound which provide a bit of a buffer.

San Bernardino County is quite large, and has a lot of fire danger areas, including semi-arid, forest and arid regions, but even the forests are semi-arid, nothing in So. California is very wet in general. San Bernardino is 20,105 square miles in size so covers a lot of ground.

One of the biggest reasons so much burns now in So. California vs the past isn't only more fire frequency, but the fact the city's have grown into the foothills which was just asking for trouble, when santa ana winds pick up in the fall any fire is blown straight down into the foot hills of the mountains, and well houses make for excellent material for fires to burn.

California will at some point really have to decide is wood structures are best suited for the climate, might be time to start building more fire resistant homes in high risk areas.

scilly

I was actually thinking of the city, San Bernardino, not the county.


Canada has done exactly the same thing.

This is why so many people were evacuated and houses lost in that Kelowna fire, and the same thing with Fort McMurray in Alberta ........... houses built right up to and in to the forest edge.

They got wise after the event, and cut down the trees so there is a clear area.

If you look at Metro Vancouver, there are several places that are intruding into the forests.

scrubbedexpat091

I would not be surprised if at some point insurance companies simply wont insure wood frame homes in fire prone areas, or wild fire coverage will be an add on like earthquake insurance is. So. California has far different vegetation than coastal BC, so I don't worry as much when we lived on the coast, nothing burns quite like the coastal chaparral, its burns hot and faster than trees do, add in the Santa Ana winds and your screwed if there is a fire, Vancouver area at least doesn't generally have that kind of wind when its hot, which helps, now the interior is more similiar to So. California but with more trees.

This guy had the right idea.

Shard

Impressive home ! But he's still very brave to ride out a firestorm...if it's really bad he wouldn't have any oxygen.

I wonder if summer forest fires continue to be this frequent and severe that people just start vacating the high risk areas. Not overnight, but over 2-3 decades. It's certainly a risk and disruptive.

scrubbedexpat091

He is braver than I would be, I am all with having fire resistant home, but if at possible, I'd not stay in the home during the fire outside, it would be more for not losing everything.

I wont be surprised if over the decades migration happens, the fires may get worse and bigger and more frequent and these areas may get hotter and just no longer be hospitable to humans.

San Diego for example, I would only live in very specific areas away from the foothills, the chance of fire in the western side of the county is pretty much zilch, but go further east, and your risk begins to increase by the mile almost. Where my dad lives and where I grew up, really no risk of fire coming through, the older sections are too urban and too far from the brush, but the newer developments 1990 onwards further east, now they are at risk, as is pretty much anyone with acreage to the east.

So. California also had a huge fire season, longer than BC has, basically April to December now, with highest risk generally August to end of October when the Santa Ana winds pick up.