Worried more fires to come

Editor: I hope that I’m wrong. The fact that we are baking in a prolonged period of 30-plus C heat with no significant cooling or moisture in the foreseeable future leads me to wonder if August has as much (or more) in store in terms of wildfires affecting other parts of the province as have already affected Ashcroft, Williams Lake, 100 Mile House, etc. We continue to hold our collective breath.

One only has to recall August of 2003 to bring back memories of the devastating Kamloops and Kelowna area fires of that time.

McLure-Barriere (July 30, discarded cigarette) and Okanagan Mountain Park (Aug. 16, lightning) were the most devastating in terms of property lost or damaged coupled with people evacuated.

Strawberry Hill (Aug. 1, suspected discarded cigarette) and McGillivray (Aug. 15, cause undetermined) were significant in terms of people displaced. Chilko Lake involved the most forest lost.

It wasn’t until late August to early September that the weather finally improved such that firefighters could gain the upper hand.

It is one thing for lightning to ignite a wildfire, it is quite another for human carelessness or worse, arson to rear its ugly head.

The actions of the three Wit brothers (Dim, Half and Nit) recently near Kalamalka Lake where they were enjoying beers around an open fire is a case in point. They were extremely lucky that the drifting embers did not set off yet another fire.

I doubt that a joint $1,150 fine is enough of a deterrent for others to have a sober second thought for their actions. The potential for property and life loss is too high a cost for those who feel entitled to enjoy a fire of whatever ilk.

I have the highest praise for those firefighters on the front lines, the first responders and other emergency personnel. Thank you. It’s easy to take everything for granted when it is laid out before us.

A year ago Don Henley encouraged us to “take care of your beautiful valley.” He was right. Randy Repka, Penticton