The Dog Days of Summer

View from Little Mountain of Mt Benson hidden in the smoke

I was walking around the fair grounds at Beban Park, listening to the nearby horses whinnying, corn dog in hand. I stopped to cough up a lung and then briefly glanced up at the smoky sky. It was about noon, but the sun was barely visible through the haze. Just three weeks or so prior, I'd gone camping up at First Lake. One week after that a major forest fire broke out, forcing an emergency evacuation of the camp site and all the nearby residents.

Summer, for me, was effectively over.

Noon day sun seen throug the wildfire smoke

Upon first hearing news of the fire, I'd prepared my emergency bag which (not surprising) mostly consisted of stuff for my cats. I couldn't help recalling friends of mine who'd been evacuated for weeks during the height of the Fort McMurray fire in 2016. I spent that week refreshing the BC Wildfire Service's map every 30 minutes or so, and checking all the facebook groups hoping to hear any news. But with the exception of a few evacuations and the poorest air quality in North America, life went on more or less the same that it always had.

Nanaimo Lakes fire as seen through thermal detection. The fire would reach a maximum size of 181 hectares

A lightening storm got me pretty excited for a few hours one afternoon. I revelled in the thunder and bolts of light that we're so rarely treated to on Vancouver Island. That excitement was dampened slightly after news that the storm had caused dozens of fires to break out. If there were any doubts as to how long the campfire ban would be in place, Islanders could consider their camping plans cancelled until further notice.

Despite the phlegmy feeling in the back of my throat, a general lack of energy and the smoker's cough, I braved the outdoors and ventured over the VIEX in search of corn dogs and horsies (there were other attractions, for the record, those two were just my highlights). But I couldn't help shaking the feeling that despite the oppressive heat summer was over.

Active wildfire in BC as of August 28, 2018

As of today, there are still over 2,000 wildfire buring in BC. While the Nanaimo Lakes fire was successfully contained and extinguished, it came at the cost of one forestry worker's life. With fires tens of thousands of hectares in size raging in the Interior of the province, I'm ready to hand over my flip flops in exchange for gumboots.

I think I'm ready for fall