I hope all our Canadian members are ok, seems like you have copped some big fires up there. Stay safe.
A substantial portion of Fort McMurray has burned to the ground. The whole city has been placed on mandatory evacuation. That is over 60,000 people. I don't know if we have any vfrw member there or not. The tar sands of the area are a major supplier of oil for the US market so it would not surprise me to see the price of oil to take a small jump. This is a great time to put the question out there, how well is your home insured? I am NOT a huge fan or onsurance companies, but can guarantee, if you don't have proper coverage, they won't give you one red cent. Federal and provincial financial relief is a beaurocratic nightmare here and is slower that FENA relief.
I have friends working in the area ... I hope they all made it out. I have not heard from any of them yet. Most were working in the camps so they should be OK.
Crikey - Just seen pictures on TV here. It looks like a huge area has already been destroyed and as the surrounding area looks tinder dry, its going to take a massive effort to stop this - especially if mother does not help out. Definitely time to heed the warnings, and where relevant be ready to pack up and get out of harms way. Stay safe folks SkiMad
Randy I know we send our firefighters overseas from time to time, but I would assume that only happens when we are asked. All our bush firefighters are volunteers , so I guess this makes it difficult for people to get time off work, particularly if they have had a busy season with fires out here and if they get paid for going O/S I have no idea. Problem with this fire you have is that it has been very quick, some of our fires in the bush can burn for many months and only mother nature can put them out, they just try and contain them around the perimiter
While our eucalyptus trees burn spectacularly well in 40ºC temperatures, they're also adapted to fire so they tend to recover quickly after it and mostly it's just the leaves that burn. The woodlands that far north are usually predominantly conifers, pines, firs, spruces and so on. Watching a big stand of mature pines go up is like standing just inside the gates of hell. They're so loaded with resin that they can quite literally explode. My thoughts are with all the very courageous people working to contain the fires and protect life and property and with those who have lost their homes, businesses and livelihoods. It amazes me that so far there has been no loss of life, although when you are evacuating that number of people on smoke blanketed roads some collisions are very likely. I hope everyone stays safe and drives carefully. A significant proportion of fatalities in bush fires here get caught in their cars as they leave it too late to evacuate.
Understood. I know the Auzzies would as would any of our friendly allies. We collectively need to put protocols in place to make this happen easier. I did not know your forest fire fighters were all volunteer. That speaks volumes for your peeps.
Forest fires are part of the natural growth and regenerating of a Forest. I understand this. That is not to say we don't do our utmost to protect life and property. I am not suggesting that is what you are saying. But we do need fires in some manner. One of the things they are realizing here in Canada and the USA is that over the last 75 years or so, we have been so good at preventing fires, that the forest floor is building up with fuel that was normally burned off by smaller and more frequent fires. I don't believe it is the sap running in the trees that makes these fires so intense. It is the needles that fall from the trees over the years and land in the crevices of the limbs and branches as well as covering the forest floor. Yellow cedar is an extreme exception to that though. You can hold a match to a freshly cut yellow cedar and the thing will catch fire fast, and burn very hot and rapid. Sparks like nothing you have ever seen. Easily 4 times as much as regular red cedar. We need to do something to prevent this horrible loss of homes and property. I just don't know what. I wished I did. Our Prime Minister has sent in 4 military helicopters to aid in this fight. That is a fucking joke. He is a fucking joke. Much like his father before him when Pierre was the PM. Canada does not have the biggest military by any stretch of the imagination. But they do number in the many tens of thousands, most of whom are in Canada. Every one of them that I have met would be eager to assist as an aid to civilian authority and help fight the fire with boots on the ground. A substantial number are based in Alberta. I am contemplating what if anything I can do to aid in the recovery. I can't rebuild the city, but I can sure help out one of our first responders and their families there, or emergency response people so they can stay focused on their jobs protecting and serving our public. I will see what happens when the fires die down. They are now evacuating other communities around Fort McMurray today according to reports. Something like this is unlikely to happen where I live but I do live near heavily forested areas. I live in an earthquake zone. I HAVE INSURANCE! The only thing I am not insured for is flood. You can't get that ere in BC. Don't know why.
