5 firefighters have died this year in BC …..It is so incredibly sad…. and it sounds like there may have been as many as 1000 people died in the fast moving fire in Lahaina, with the very strong wind.

On Friday night the fire that has ravaged Lee Creek, Scotch Creek and Celista (which also came in the direction of where we live) was the fastest moving fire in our history. On the way a gas station actually blew up.

When a fire is moving this fast, it is clear from all accounts in Fort McMurray, Paradise, Lahaina, etc that NOTHING can stop it. All conditions were right for a horrendous situation. When it is too dangerous (IE when they are risk of falling burning trees) (2 firefighters have died this year in this situation) they cannot stay in the situation. They have been heavily criticized for not staying and fighting an impossible situation.

Many people who live in Scotch Creek, Lee Creek and Celista have taken to firefighting themselves, which includes mainly putting out Hot spots which are when an ember from the big fire lands somewhere and continues to smoulder, they can later light up and lead to a major fire. It has been said on a radio interview with a local firefighter that these fires are easy to fight, and that attending to these HOT SPOTS can save homes.

It is quite understandable that there are those who want to stay and protect their homes, since the BC wildfire service is spread fairly thin, this being the worst fire season on record. Again NO need to criticize firefighters, they are risking their lives, even though you cannot see them.

So a few evenings ago the convoy…. remember the convoy? (the large group of truckers who drove across Canada to Ottawa to protest the Covid Mandates, most of which had been lifted before their ridiculous prank) issued THIS post. They met in Blind Bay and drove to the blockade to attempt to dismantle the blockade. You can see on the map below that the transCanada highway goes through Sorrento the town that we live west of.

This encounter between the “protesters” and police did not result in any arrests, however it changed  the “tone” of the conflicts on the North Shuswap between the locals, the police, and the firefighters.

The police and the BCWS (firefighters) posted on website that they were pulling out of the north Shuswap out of safety concerns.  This post was quickly taken down, however the firefighters WERE reassigned to different fires, and according the BCWS this was only partly because of the protests. The locals on the North Shuswap made it clear that they were not in any way associated with those who participated in the “convoy protesters”

There have been extensive negotiations between the locals of the north Shuswap and the police and BCWS and the CSRD, and apparently now, they are working together.  In any situation like this, there are many different types of responses, and I totally understand those who have chosen to stay and fight the fires, however I struggle with those on the north Shuswap who have essentially blamed this horrendous fire on the BCWS.  There have been extensive posts being shared hundreds of times by people critical of firefighters for not risking their lives in the face of an out of control fire, and blaming the firefighters for the fire. It is sad that people like this are given such a widespread voice in times of crisis.

The fire on the North Shuswap has settled down, especially in Lee creek.  As many as 13 people in Lee creek have lost their homes, many of whom, had no insurance.  Parts of this community do not fall under the rules of CSRD building codes and are uninsurable. I must admit I do not know the exact details of this other than I do know that many have lost everything, with no insurance.  I certainly hope that much of the money that is coming in to the area in donations and funding will go to help these people the most.

We live on the South side of the lake now, but lived on the north Shuswap for 7 years and that was where we had our medical doctors office.

Our current situation is that we are hanging out in our motor home, moving every few days, which is our nature. Ken spent 2 days in Armstrong, then I joined him at our sons place in Barnhartvale(Kamloops) and yesterday we cane up to the Casino in Kamloops for a few days on our own to get our thoughts together

The only estimate of when we might be able to return is 1-2 weeks. On the map above, you can see the dark red line on the south side of the lakes, that is the fire perimeter. The BCWS yesterday said that they are “building a fire guard” around the perimeter of the fire. They expect it to be complete today or tomorrow. A fire guard, I believe, is where they create an area a designated distance wide that is free of anything combustable. They are also opening the TransCanada highway today, which will allow traffic to travel through Sorrento. I am sure that this will be good for the truckers who currently are having to detour quite a distance to get from BC to Alberta.

We are doing very well. We have good insurance which even covers us for costs while we are under evacuation. So essentially any food or clothing we need will be reimbursed by insurance. There is nothing available to us through emergency services or the Red Cross, which is totally fine with us. Moving around in the motorhome is what we do all winter, so a bit like that. We are afraid to go too far away in case they open up our area suddenly. From what we can get out of reports we have been given, the power was out to our place for 4 days. Will have to sort out the fridge and freezer.

Our only concern at this point is that we are leaving on a hiking trip to England on the 5th of September and it might be hard to leave without being back in house. A few things in the house that we will need for the trip. So we shall see.

Well this has been an attempt to explain the situation here from our perspective and there certainly are others. I am certain we would feel very different if we did not have insurance. We “sprung” our grandson from daycare for 3 days and had LOTS of fun.

Today we found a wonderful beach in Kamloops past the water treatment plant, past the pulp mill and past the dump.

Thanks for reading this, much love to all Janet Ken and Tucker.