There is one thing to be especially thankful for with our less than stellar summer weather so far and that, of course, is the forest fire situation.
We were well into another horrifying situation at this time last year, fuelled partly by heat domes that hit our region even before summer officially began.
It’s still distressing to see a forest fire that encroached on what’s left of Lytton. So much for lightning not striking twice in the same place and, within one year of a fire that ripped through the region and destroyed most of the community, it’s disconcerting to say the least.
There have still been hot spots around the province this year already and concerns about what might be to come.
We will get some high temperatures eventually and we’re into the stretch of summer at the end of July and early August when that usually happens, regardless how mediocre the weather has been to this point.
While it’s a relief we’re not anywhere near some of the worst wildfire seasons in B.C. history that have occurred in recent years, it’s very troubling to see conditions elsewhere in Canada like Manitoba and around the world, particularly in Europe.
Climate change is ripping through the entire European continent with record-breaking temperatures in places like the United Kingdom, France and Spain.
The alarm bells have been going off for years about the rapid escalation of temperatures and many places on the planet are facing unprecedented crises, as a result. More measures need to be taken because once the prolonged 40C+ conditions we’re seeing in so many places climbs into the 50C+ range, we’re really in trouble.
The best thing we can do here while we’re not in the same extreme weather grip as other places is to remain vigilant. We’re never completely out of the woods and the last thing we need is a sudden proliferation of human-caused fires, in particular.
There are more people camping and in the back country during the summertime than ever before. Exercising caution should be at the top of the priority as much as getting out to keep the body in shape.
So many communities have been devastated by fires in the last five years, we don’t need any more.