Amen!

ole joyful ... who thinks that BLF is an inhabitant of the Island

I'm out on the "island" and we have our own set of fires all up and down the island. The north of the island (if you watch the tv series "Alone" which is set on North Vancouver Island) is known as a Rain Forest....but sadly....not this summer :(

I'm in the greater Vancouver area and so we're ok although we're starting to smell smoke. My nephew and his wife had a baby on July 1st down here but live in the fire area and so aren't going home yet. Smoke and ash aren't good for baby's lungs.

My husband is planning on driving to Calgary with his 89 year old mother starting Saturday but as it stands now it looks like they will have trouble getting there with the various highway closures. No rain is in the forecast.

We were running in the trails this morning as I do regularly and now there are warnings to stay on the trails and No Smoking and the Fire Hazard rating is climbing.

I hate this time of year, a few years ago a friend of ours who was a water bomber pilot for forest fires, crashed into the side of a mountain because he got lost in the smoke after a quick change in the wind direction.

It is a really scary time for so many people. Many of the places that are being evacuated are small towns and they are just hoping that they have a place to come home to when the evacuation orders are lifted.

To those provinces who are sending fire fighters and equipment, thank-you, it is most appreciated. The US west coast is facing the same situation as we are and we often rely on one another for help, but not this year.