A Sigh of Relief

In my last blog post I wrote of how the wildfire burning near Clinton has touched me in a very personal way, threatening the cabins that have been in my dad’s family for over sixty-five years. Since the controlled burn-offs took place along Kelly Lake and behind our cabins and neighbouring homes on Saturday, the family has been speculating about what changes we might expect in the landscape on our next visit. Thankfully, we don’t have to wonder anymore.

My parents, who were evacuated almost two weeks ago, had an opportunity to visit the cabins this afternoon, escorted there by a fire official. He was gracious enough to also drive as far as the picnic site at the lake so that my parents could get a good look at the aftermath. After seeing this dramatic photo of Saturday night’s burn-off*

they were amazed to see that so little had changed from how it used to be.

Other than some scorched areas (particularly high on the ridge) and red patches of fire retardant the hillside is predominantly green. The fire mainly consumed fuel from the forest floor and left most of the trees intact. The smoke you see is from another burn-off.

This photo, taken Saturday afternoon, shows the fire advancing down the hillside directly behind our property.*

While I knew intellectually that the fire had reached this spot and had been successfully halted, it hit me for the first time just how close it had come to our beloved cabins.

From this photo, taken at a different angle just a little farther up the road, you can see that once again, amazingly, the hillsides bear very few scars.

The little fire that is remaining is expected to burn itself out and our cabins are no longer considered to be in danger.

This final picture, of my uncle’s cabin, shows the hillside as it appears from our place; as you can see, there is practically no visible damage.

Having seen other photos of homes surrounded by scorched trees I feel very fortunate to have escaped so lightly. Thanks to our location, the weather, and an amazing crew of firefighters our cabins will continue to provide our family with more happy memories for years to come.

*Source: http://bcwildfire.ca/ftp/!Project/WildfireNews/8302009~63809_2009_C40429-Kelly%20Creek,%20August%2029_BCFS(Gwen%20Eamer).JPG

*Source: ftp://ftp.tnrd.bc.ca/pub/2009Fire/Kelly_Creek_Fire_Photos/kellycreekaug29/