Another cool June morning here at Camp Edith but comfortable with no need for the wood stove. I let it go out yesterday after needing it for several days recently. The weather has been strange! The prevailing wind has been out of the north almost every day. So it was back to burning some wood here which is never a problem as we always have so much of it.Wondering about my strange title today? Read on! It’s a current events kind of thing.
The big news here this week that attracted international attention was the wildfires in Canada. Just across the border from here as it’s a mere 70 miles or so to Ottawa. Canada currently has hundreds of wildfires across the country. Many listed as out of control. What’s that got to do with life here in Macomb? Everything! Earlier last week a weather phenomenon pushed smoke from the wildfires in Quebec and Ontario down into the northeast of the United States. I stepped out of camp one morning and caught a whiff of smoke in the air. From someone’s camp wood stove I figured. I had been called into work at Fort Drum and on my early morning commute to work I noticed that the sun wasn’t visible. Strange as it wasn’t calling for rain. There was a heavy mist hanging over the ponds and wetlands that seemed out of place. The sky had an out of place look about it also. Shortly after arriving at work the sun appeared in a hazy sky. Bright red and beautiful actually. My coworkers then mentioned that it was due to the wildfires in Canada. All day the red sun crossed the sky hidden in the smoke that was blanketing the entire sky. I hadn’t watched the news or listened to the radio so I had totally been oblivious to all that was occurring!
After work I began to research the wildfires online. What I read was shocking and disturbing! Areas I knew from traveling the bush country were burning! One spot in particular caught my attention when I saw mention of the town of Clova, Quebec. I had history there having actually stayed overnight there. Clova was in danger of burning and no relief was possible according to what the news was saying. This tiny town is but a spot on a map. Only several dozen residents live there. But it’s a way station of sorts. A destination of hunters and fishermen headed further into the bush by floatplane in warmer months. A destination for snowmobilers in the winter. In 2013 my friend and I had spent the night in Clova so we could catch a floatplane out early the next morning to get to our fishing base camp on Lac Hebert. We had traveled over 100 miles on dusty,dirt logging roads to get there late in the afternoon. The bush country we traveled through was dotted with lakes from time to time but mostly just miles and miles of thick boreal forest. Meeting a vehicle was spooky as people drove way too fast. A flying rock chipped my windshield at one point as an impatient driver passed us on the narrow road. We learned to look off into the distance when we crested a hill to search for the dust clouds of approaching vehicles. Meeting a log truck was rather interesting! We stopped in the tiny crossroads of Parent for gas and bait before taking back off for Clova.In Clova we had booked a room in the old schoolhouse turned hotel so getting there was our main objective. Once we arrived in Clova we had to ask directions to the motel at the gas station. We were informed of its unmarked location nearby and that we could pay after we moved into our room right there. It seems it’s all part of the same enterprise. We were also informed there is only one restaurant in town.We were standing in it asking directions! It was a hub of activity also serving as a bar and small general store. The French people were mostly friendly and spoke English but communication lacked at times. The pace of life there was very laidback. Best not be in a hurry as seems to be our fashion down in the states. I envied their carefree, nonchalant mannerisms. So leg one of our journey was completed! After a few beers and dinner we retired to our room for the night. There was the constant rumble of the large town diesel generator that ran 24/7 to power the small community. I will leave this story here and return to it in the future as it’s a worthy MOONTABS tale of adventure. But now you know of my connection to Clova! And the reason for my concern. The fate of the town and our bush plane outfitter Air Tamarac remains unknown at the moment.
By Tuesday the smoke in our area was obviously noticeable and the air quality index reported unhealthy conditions. Everything had an eerie light about it with a thick haze of smoke very noticeable over the trees. The sunset was a brilliant red ball on the horizon. Wednesday returned with the same conditions as Tuesday. Everyone was talking about the smoke and the news here was dominated with reports. I continued to research the fires in Canada and studied the fire maps. A furtive plan began to percolate in my mind after reading about citizen volunteers being asked to assist with the wildfires that were plaguing Alberta. Could I become a volunteer? I began to search for an avenue to inquire. Thursday found our skies clearing although the cool weather remained similar to the preceding days. I made my first call that morning to an agency in Manitoba, Canada to offer my assistance. Things went as I expected. The gentleman I spoke with was polite in his response that volunteers were not a consideration due to liability. Ah the modern society of lawsuits and liabilities while thousands of Canadian hectares burned out of control. Surely a person could help in some safe capacity?
I had a busy day Thursday of annual blood tests,X-rays, and an ultrasound as has been the case since my cancer situation in 2009. Yet another story of my journey through life. A life changing event as I have posted about before.I didn’t get back to my quest for wildfire volunteering until Friday morning. I sent an email to Natural Resources Canada and got an auto generated response but hadn’t gotten any other information. Meanwhile the wildfire situation hasn’t improved to any degree. International firefighting professionals have been dispatched from several nations including the United States. That’s encouraging since Canada’s firefighter response teams are deployed at full capacity nationwide.With other countries experiencing wildfires it’s a taxing situation from what I’m reading. Isn’t there a less liability position that I assist with I keep asking myself? I wasn’t planning on jumping out of a helicopter like a Smokejumper professional. I have zero firefighting skills. But I can cook,drive,run a chainsaw,camp out in the forest,etc. Oh yeah! Running a chainsaw is a liability in the wrong hands when I think about it. I’ll sign a waiver then. A wildfire volunteer Hold Harmless Agreement. Do my part from a distance from the front lines (where I know I could endanger the professionals.) Please don’t take my frustration as negative or sarcastic! It’s painful watching all that forest burn! But there’s another consideration to be examined in that comment!
Research has taught me that wildfires have occurred for thousands of years across most of North America and much of the world. Often the result of lightning strikes coupled with super dry conditions they are a natural albeit destructive part of nature. But enter in the human factor which at the moment in Canada is responsible for about 50% of the current wildfire crisis ( fact check please!) a new twist enters the equation. Some scientists will quickly blame climate change for the hot,dry conditions in North America. No comment on that subject without further exhaustive research. I do know that a certain wood beetle that is killing boreal forest is contributing to the problem. I have seen it first hand in South Dakota as far back as 2012. The mountain pine beetle and related species have added fuel to the fires literally from their destructive life cycles. Perhaps wildfires might bring about the demise of their spread? The threads of research and opinions fan out in many different directions. Fire has been a constant in nature and as such must be a consideration in the natural cycles of the earth. It’s human habitation that often falls in the path of wildfires so the situation takes on something far more complicated then I can even fathom.Regardless of anything that’s a legitimate part of my concern. The places I know.The people we’ve met who live and make their living in the bush country. And the beautiful locations themselves. Birds and wildlife displaced. The clean waters that will be affected by post fire runoff. Nature is a mystery most certainly.
So that’s the latest on that situation. As for the rest of my current events? Busy at the farm with the old woodshed renovation. We have finished the demolition and cleanup after jacking it up onto 5 support piers. Zane and I got the new skid timbers into place yesterday. Things are moving along. We pulled some 2x material out of the haymow storage for the new floor that needs to go down. Three years since it was sawn and stickered up. There’s plenty of work remaining before the woodshed gets moved to its new location.
So there’s lots going on at the farm property these days. I have been bush hogging select locations on the farm in our ongoing efforts to maintain and reclaim the upper land of the hill. It’s been productive and the trail system just beyond the gap is taking shape. The amount of post die off blowdown materials slow down the process however. But things are moving forward and the cooler weather has been good for working.
I will follow up on the wildfire situation and my ongoing attempts to assist there. I did manage to get some volunteer time in Friday night at the TILT annual Zenda Farms Summer Picnic in Clayton,New York where I flipped hamburgers and hotdogs by the dozens alongside other volunteer grillers! If that didn’t earn me firefighter skills then it should have in my humble opinion! Lots of smoke and flame! Like I said I would gladly cook for all the hardworking firefighter professionals risking their lives in the wilds of Canada! I applaud their dedication! I wish them safety and success as this crisis continues on. The air is clear and fresh here today but I know it’s not the case above us! ✍️