EMERGENCY RISK REDUCTION

You may ask: Where’s the agony in my summer? What I am about to tell you was not only agonizing. It was heartbreaking.

You may recall that I drove an almost-new van to my son from North Carolina to Canada earlier in the summer. It had been purchased in Atlanta by Sheldon, for the purpose of ‘camperizing’ it with a bed, refrig, sink, etc. I delivered it to him in the interior town of Lytton, British Columbia where his firefighting unit was based. His plan was to refurbish it during evenings and weekends of the fire season.

The summer of 2020 was relatively mild, with few wildfires during the season. 2021 was exactly the opposite. Wildfires came fast, and they came furious. My son’s unit was in the middle of them.  I mentioned that at Esperanza, we experienced weeks of heat and no rain, which jeopardized our water system. The same happened all over BC. Lytton is historically the hottest town in BC. 2021 was no exception. For three days in late May, the town broke not only BC but the all-time Canadian record – with temps reaching degrees of 113F, 118F, and 121F.

Sheldon’s crew had been deployed to a wildfire in the area three days before. On May 30, they received word that Lytton was on fire. Aided by 50 mph winds, the entire tinder-dry town burned in 20 minutes. The unit was unable to return to get their possessions. Twenty members of his crew lost everything. My son lost all – furnishings in a rented apartment, his new van, and all accessories for remodeling it. My estimate of the loss is $35,000.

A hard pill to swallow for a 22 year old college student. Maybe a harder pill to swallow for his Dad. Maybe because I had driven it all the way across the country and was attached to it. Maybe a mixed feeling of guilt and stupidity because I had only road insurance on the van, not wildfire coverage. Whoever thought that a once-in-a-lifetime event like a village of Lytton would completely burn! It made international news. We hear shades of this in California, but would it ever happen here? Well, it did happen, and it was agonizing. There seems to be no assistance; no financial support from the federal or provincial government; no help from the BC Wildfire Service — Sheldon’s summer employer. It is heartbreaking.  That 20 minute wildfire in Lytton, BC clouded my entire summer at Esperanza.

But alas, Sheldon is resilient. He is bouncing back. The long season of firefighting ended Friday, September 24, and we flew out of Vancouver to North Carolina on Tuesday, September 28. A week later, he had bought another van, and is now busy building it out these weeks. Lovely to have him here, along with his girlfriend, also a firefighter with woodworking skills. We had so little time to visit during the summer.

I have opened up my humble cabin in the mountains of North Carolina, after being away many weeks longer than expected. I missed my little place. I love the crisp temperatures of Fall. I love the hardwoods, the ever-changing palate of colors. I plan to be here for the winter. I have wood chopped — ready to feed a wood burning stove. I have water. I have electricity. I have communications — radio, cell phone, and internet. I am on the grid!

But I look forward to a return to Esperanza. The diamond-studded water. The rhythm of the tides. The spouting humpback whales. The lofty green cliffs. The towering Douglas fir and spruce. The medley of seagull, ospreys, and eagles. 

However, in play for my return are government cross-border restrictions dealing with the WuFlu – vaccinations, testing, mask wearing, social distancing – which I pray will become reasonable.   Perhaps in early Spring, after the frost threat subsides, my son is finished his van conversions, and is on his feet financially, I will can set my sights north. I miss beautiful Esperanza! I miss the small dedicated group of volunteers! I miss the quietness, the peacefulness. I miss being off the grid!

Thanks for reading.