Sorrento fire

the worms shall eat like kings and other fiery tales

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We are starting to really appreciate the path of the fire and how very fortunate we are that our house survived. We all think in terms of streets, roads and avenues, but the fire only knows north south east and west. This is an older map (august 20) but shows the lay of the land. The x’s show where the 2 fires began over a month ago, the big line shows approx where the fire was on Friday August 18th, the day that in the media they were saying could be the most challenging weather for fires in BC history, with the heat and the strong winds in forecast. The night before the huge fire in West Kelowna has come from out of nowhere and crossed the lake taking 60 homes with it. The arrows show where the fire went that night. The 2 fires on both sides of Adams Lake joined and crossed the land tract that separates the little Shuswap from the main Shuswap Lake.

We live where that blob is west of Sorrento in a ~40 acre strata that has 4 lots each about 10 acres. All of the properties here have lost trees to this fire. There are 2 finished homes including ours and a third under construction, all of which survived the fire. Only a small part of our lot is forested, since our lot is where the main gravel pit used to be. But these pictures are of our forest on the west side of our property.

I have never fully believed the adage that the fire preferentially burns the conifers over the deciduous trees, but it is clear from our property that it is so.

The very aggressive stage of the fire seemed to end around the area we are in and we are on the edge of a more smouldering fire. We wake up to something like this picture where the coolness of the night has controlled the small fires creating mostly smoke.

Then it clears a bit and these little “spouts” start to come up, encouraged on by the heat of the day.

Then they get more active…. and then the helicopters come in and start dropping gallons of water on them.

It has been 3 days now, and actually quite exciting watching helicopters up close like this, flying directly over our house starting around noon and going until 8 pm. There are usually 2 helicopters and they large one apparently carries 2500 gallons and the smaller one about 1500 gallons. Since we are only 1km from the lake it only takes them about 5 minutes to refill and then dump, and so there is a phenomenal amount of water being dumped on the area just behind us. Last night we sat under the patio roof that Ken just completed prior to the fire and watched the helicopters, drank beer and ate chips with salsa (just made with the tomatoes, peppers, onions and garlic from my garden). The air is much better than this in the afternoon, because the air goes up the mountain during the day and down the mountain during the night. We WERE nervous the first night here, but watch the daily BCWS, CSRD reports and feel quite comfortable that we are safe. Most of the “fuel” around us is already burned, and it took extremely unique weather conditions to create that aggressive fire on August 18th, quite different from what we are experiencing now. Our area is patrolled day and night. Our area seems to be the keyhole that allows authorities to monitor this fire. Sorrento is only 5 Km from here, and they are working hard to keep it stable to prevent further extension east.

On to the worms….

We have a worm farm that a few years ago I moved outside and deep under our compost bins. The have done well in this situation for 3 winters, covered over with tarps etc. Yesterday was clean out the fridge and freezer day. Our power was out for 4 days, it came back on 4 days before we got home. I spent some time researching this before we got home. There are those who are saying that after 4 days without power you should just tape up your fridge and take it to the dump, and that opening it will release a smell that will take forever to get out of your house.

That certainly was not the case for us, in fact we have an ice maker that deposits ice into a bin in the lower freezer of our fridge. The ice cubes were still mostly formed which for us was enough to know that it never fully thawed. We do not, as a rule, eat meat or dairy, and most of what was in our freezer were fruits that we have harvested this year and bulk nuts. So we mostly threw out the stuff from our fridge that had been without cooling for 4 days, so our worm farm/compost got all the Kalamata olives, artichoke hearts, capers, and sun dried tomatoes. We did take a small load to the dump of some meat we keep for when our carnivorous kids come to visit. I was thinking about the wildlife and and tried to think of a way to provide this to the critters who might be hungry right now, but could not come up with a way that did not risk our safety or theirs.

If the truth be known, it was quite exhilarating getting the fridge cleaned out as it is not something we do regularly, and….. we have only had this fridge for 3 years, …🤔😀. There ARE all those jars of stuff that you buy, do not love and never get around to throwing away. So for a few minutes we have the cleanest fridge around.

and then there is Tucker, who is being a very good dog and not chasing all of those fire trucks going past our place all day long.

We ARE safe and sound and have a box of N95 masks.

Janet, Ken and Tucker, the good dog

home again home again…

~ mymostrecentobsession ~ 2 Comments

On Friday when the trans Canada highway (which goes through Sorrento the town we live just outside) opened, we took a drive outside to see the “scene of the crime”. We saw all of the destruction from the end of Little Shuswap Lake almost to the turn off we usually take to our house. You could see where the fire has crossed the highway from the north, and gone up the hill on the south side for a distance of 7-8 KM of highway, taking all the of the power poles, and any structures in its wake.

This area is largely the Little Shuswap First Nations band. It was interesting in areas of total destruction to find a house standing here and there, bright and perfect, almost out of place, amidst the ruin.

Instructions were not to stop anywhere along the way. All of the turn offs on the road were barricaded or manned with a security car. We stopped at the end of Elson Road with a hope of getting a glimpse of where we live. We talked to the security guard who made it clear that we could not even walk up the road and in fact if we were stopped more than 5 mins we would be ticketed by the CSRD. We could not see our house, as the area, in particular, was very smokey. There were 2 helicopters actively dropping buckets of water in the area. It was hard to really see anything, so I tried unsuccessfully to get a good video of the helicopters filling with water. Tucker was pretty pissed that we did not drive home. We then drove back to Kamloops and got back at about 4 pm. At 5:30 pm the powers that be, changed the designation of Sorrento from evacuation order to Alert, allowing everyone to return home. Since we live about 5 KM west of Sorrento, I phoned them to make certain that it was safe for us to go back (I guess because where we live appeared to be where the remaining fire was), they said for sure we could go back. We opted to wait until the morning, just to make sure.

So I drove ahead to see if it seemed OK for Ken to bring Motorhome. The air was good, it more smelled like smoke, than actually smokey. It appears that some of our larger trees at the top of our property have burned, and will need to be taken down. The weeds coming down the bank have also burned, but house seems to have been missed by the fire. AND MY GARDEN looks GREAT! albeit a bit weedy🤔

our biggest concern about fire has always been the road leading up to our place, and should a fire happen that might block our ability to exit. There was clear evidence that the fire had involved the trees alongside our road.

We had LOTS of company when we first got home. The various neighbours, some of whom I had never met came up. Most of them have stayed throughout the fire. They live 1/2 KM down the hill. We only have one neighbour up where we live. Both of our homes sit on what used to be a gravel pit, lacking any trees or foliage, and both survived. I believe that the fire in its fury has a mind of its own, the strong wind, the heat, the wind direction and the amount of fuel in its path. It is evident that the main fire would have passed our houses hitting just the top of our property. It is the flying embers that would likely have burned our house. We have a metal roof, metal siding and concrete patios around much of our house. The fire department who were the second visitors we had, complimented us on our house being very fire proof. The firefighters who have been working up here are a local fire department and have been working hard up here to prevent this fire from moving on to Sorrento the township. Apparently they heard that we were doctors and so have been awaiting our return because one of them had a medical concern 😀

There was even a photojournalist from Los Angeles who came by to take photos.

We have been lamenting how very hot it is up here with no trees to provide any shade on these very hot summers. We have also been planning on planting many trees. Well this is likely what saved our place. A “fuelless” property.

The COMOX fire department came up and put sprinklers on our neighbours house and refilled the reservoir there. There are fire crews from all over the province in our area.

SOOO This is our secret weapon, our son Dylan made us a few years ago during the fires. It attaches to a fire hose and shoots LOTS of water a LONG distance. He IS willing to make these for other people…..

So as the day went on, and it got hotter, the fires behind warmed up and from about noon until 8pm the helicopters (2 of them) were continually bucketing the area behind us.

it DID get quite smokey into the evening. We did get a bit nervous being alone up here, but the firetrucks came up about 9 pm and told us that everything looked pretty good. So glad it gets cooler at night.

This morning it is very smoky and we have lots of N95 masks. many many many tomatoes to process, I planted 150 plants this year with hopes of selling at the market, but I guess that is out, so tomato sauce, salsa, tomato paste etc etc etc.

We have opted to stay, trusting in the local fire dept telling us that we are safe. The family below us have 5 kids and they too are a “little ” wary.

coming up next…… dealing with the freezer etc

so for now

thanks for reading much love from Janet, Ken and tucker the fire dog

The fire situation in the Shuswap area, how we see it

~ mymostrecentobsession ~ 7 Comments

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.