I agree wholeheartedly Kathleen. It’s awful what’s happening in that region of North America. Very hard on people, animals and ecosystems.
18 months ago in SE Australia we endured the worst heatwaves and fires on record. It was apocalyptic for months and months. The toll on people and wildlife was horrific, and many forest areas won’t recover to what they were for decades if at all. Smoke was so thick for months, cycling was a health hazard. I ended up with lung problems which took 12 months to recover.
The good news is that La Niña rains did eventually arrive here and the past 12 months have been blessedly mild and wet. Occasionally too wet (with widespread floods) but compared to those massive fires it’s been wonderful.
And advice to anyone in those smoke affected areas. Stay inside or wear a mask rated to filter out small particles. It’ll save your lungs.
We were aghast at what was happening in Australia back then. And then we in California (and other parts of the American West) went up in flames last summer. Remember the photos of how orange the light was in San Francisco? Horrific, all of it. We had been thinking of moving north closer to relatives from our place in Silicon Valley, but the fires and the SMOKE nixed that idea. (Now we’re at the seaside where we haven’t seen the sun for days at a time because of the marine layer.) BC bore the brunt of the heat dome that western North America went through.
Has anyone heard of cycle tourists who have been caught in it? Our Karen Cook was smart enough to bail on her tour and will live to tour another day.
If it’s not 112F it’s raining cats and dogs over here.
We live in the interior of BC and can hardly believe what's happening here. We've never experienced such hot temperatures for such a long period of time. Also it doesn't cool off normally at night, so our house just gets a bit hotter every day. Usually June here is rainy and cool, but this heat started around June 20, and is continuing. Now we're also getting smoky skies from the many wildfires in the province, so it really does seem apocalyptic. Needless to say, we're not cycling. We tried a short early-morning ride a week ago and it was painfully hot in the sun by 8:30.
Here on the coast the heat dome has subsided and temperatures are much closer to the normal range. It hasn't been smoky in Vancouver but that could change. A lot depends on wind direction.
VERY smoky here in the Kootenays. Today we wore N95 masks while picking berries in our garden.
I don’t think I’ll be coming out to visit my brother in Crescent Valley anytime soon. Breathe gently!
Take care, Eva. Scary times indeed. I spoke with friends in Nelson a couple of weeks ago, and they were OK then -- though very hot. The weather patterns then were strangely local: they have a cabin up near Johnson's Landing, and it had been wet-and-windy there. A friend here in Ottawa is from Vernon, and usually spends the summer at her family farm there; because of the pandemic she hasn't travelled west this year, however. Had she done so, the smoky air would have been a major problem for her.
Some serious and probably long overdue reassessment of fire management going on, but getting through this season will be the first order of business.
Best wishes, John
Hi John, What a coincidence! Your mention of a friend in Nelson with a cottage at Johnson's Landing made Al and me wonder if it's the same person we know with such a cottage. Sure enough, Greg said you'd met in Africa and had spent some time here while on a bicycle trip in 2016 (as described in your journal). Small world!
Hello, dear BC CycleBlazers,
I’m watching the news and twitter feeds about the unbelievable heat and the enormous fires in your neck of the woods. Just want you to know that we’re thinking of you. We’ve got some of those things to handle down here in California, and the fire season is young, so we understand some of what you’re going through.
Good luck, everyone.
2 years ago