Commentary, nature, Photography

Finally, Rain

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We finally got a good rainfall in the Okanagan which has helped tremendously with the fires in West Kelowna, Westbank First Nation, Lake Country and Kelowna.

A little evening rainfall.

M and I have been staying inside because the air quality has been so terrible. Our area was beginning to look like an apocalyptic movie; it was very dark out and the smell of wood smoke was extremely unsettling. At one point our fire alarm went off because smoke was managing to leak inside. Nevertheless, yesterday the air cleared up enough for us to take a short walk outside.

Okanagan Lake beach cloaked in smoke.

The beaches were eerily empty – the premier had asked tourists to leave because hotel spaces were needed for evacuees – and the downtown was uncharacteristically quiet for this time of year. After days of concentrated acridity, we were at last able to see something of Okanagan Lake although it was still wearing a smoke veil. But as we were coming home, it happened – rain, that is. Finally there was a good soaking which has hugely aided in the fire fighting efforts. Today, most of the road closures were rescinded and the Okanagan travel ban has been lifted. Hopefully, our skies will soon be completely clear again.

Many in the Okanagan have lost homes and possessions and are facing the huge task of re-building and starting over. I wish them all the best for the future.

The environmental damage has been enormous. All the hectares of forests, all the animals, the atmosphere … The only good news is that at least no one was hurt or injured, in part a testament to the forest fire safety planning and execution of those plans and to the extreme efforts of fire fighting personnel and their supporters.

My friends and colleagues in the Northwest Territories are still under threat and have been evacuated to numerous places all over the country. Although those fires seem to be holding, I hope they will soon be out and everyone is able to safely return home.

Happy Thursday.

26 thoughts on “Finally, Rain”

  1. I’m glad you’re finally getting some rain. This fire season has been so tragic; so many lost lives, and destruction of nature and property. It’s hard to believe so many people still think climate change is a hoax.

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    1. Agreed. It has been a terrible summer here and of course in other parts of the world also, especially Maui. Last summer Australia was burning. Then there has been the flooding. These extremes have been predicted for years by climate scientists, so the only people being hoaxed are the ones refusing to accept the science. It would be funny except that they keep trying to throw up roadblocks. I think the basis of this is perhaps that deniers just don’t want to take any kind of responsibility.

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  2. So glad rain finally came. We got another 15 mm over night and temps have stayed cool, but heat is coming. I wish for your area, more rain so the fires can get under control.

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    1. Thank you very much, Allan. I’m glad to hear that you’ve gotten some good rainfall recently; at least there’s some moisture in the bank for the next round of heat. Thankfully our temperatures are supposed to begin moderating downward over the next couple of weeks.

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  5. The fires have been horrific this year. Blessings to all those affected. Glad the rain finally came. Let us keep good thoughts that this is a positive trend.

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  7. So relieved you got some rain, but so sorry the catasrophic fires are still burning. It is so scary to be breathing the smoke and know fire is burning out of control. Stay safe & take good care დდ

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    1. Thank you very much, Cindy. It was such a relief to be walking home and to start feeling the drops. It really gave the fire fighters the edge that they needed to get some control. Cheers.

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  8. I’m so glad to hear that you finally got some rain and that the smoky conditions have improved. How wild that your fire alarm went off because of all the smoke. It’s been a horrendous year for wildfires. I really hope this isn’t the new normal.

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    1. I agree, Linda. I think many people are worried about the same thing; is this the new normal? I feel that we need to really move on climate protections, but we are being held up by money/power-driven politicians. We have at least one claiming that the fires are being caused by arsonists. 🙄 Yeah, there were arsonists wandering in the isolated NWT bush with a gas can and a match. This would be hilarious if it hadn’t come as a serious statement from one of our so-called leaders. My apologies for the mini-rant – maybe I’ll do this as a post instead. Cheers. 🙂

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      1. For sure. And the thing that I don’t get is that regardless of your political views, I think most people would get behind and be supportive of more climate protections. But maybe not. It’s wild (and kind of offensive) to hear that someone in a position of power seriously suggested that the fires in the NWT were caused by arsonists. I can’t help but worry for the future and what kind of world we’re leaving for the next generations to come.

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        1. Right? You would think so. But it’s been turned into such a political issue, very unnecessarily so.
          No kidding about the leader who made that suggestion (actually it was an attempt to avoid any accusations of climate change). Agreed – I worry as well. What are we passing on to the next generation? I shudder to think.

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