This one is about an hour from me, we will likely have ash from it falling in my yard in a day or two. It went from 200 hectares to 650 hectares in a day. The smoke column is clearly visible from here.


http://thenelsondaily.com/...s-45183#.WYFCJa3Mxo4

And I am now on standby, ready to head out in a firetruck within half an hour if another community in the southeast part of the province needs help. I am also still on call for my area, with instant response required. We had two fires on Friday, but managed to keep them both small and controlled. I am not sure how much longer our luck will keep up.

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Starting from scratch...

Damn. You guys need a bloody break.

My department alone (20 guys, 6 trucks, about 100 square km area plus another 250 that we provide assistance to) went to twice as many fires in July as we did all of January through June. We are on about week 6 of 30+ degree heat, and are consistently dropping below 15% relative humidity. I was told that a local (southeast part of BC) fire official has said that if this weather continues we will see the worst fire danger ratings this area has ever seen, and he will be shocked if we get through this summer without losing at least one community.

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Starting from scratch...