Where did my city go?? (186/365)

7

July 5, 2015 – When I woke up this morning the light was odd. it had a golden hue to it that was more reminiscent of sunset that early morning. It just got worse from that point on, and by mid day the city had vanished and everything everywhere smelled like a campfire.

There are fires burning in Sechelt and Pemberton that are having a major impact on the city’s air quality, and a few other fires in the Southern part of the Province are adding to the mess. The sunsets the past two nights have been huge red glowing balls of flame as they fall through the smoky air. And today an air quality advisory was issued.

I’ve lived here for 28 years and I’ve never seen a summer as dry as this, and I’ve never seen smoke fill the air as it is currently. It’s like the city itself is on fire.

This weekend our water restrictions were tightened up and lawn watering is allowed only once per week. The temperature on the North Shore reached 35.8C, and the grass up at Cypress was literally crispy under our feet. More things I’ve never experienced here. I hate temperature extremes that veer towards the inferno end of the scale. That’s one of the things I love so much about Vancouver, no extremes. At least there wasn’t before now. I hope this isn’t the new norm.

And yet, still one can find cigarette butts flicked into the grasses so dry they are just waiting for a spark to go up in flame.

Why do so many people fail to think about their actions and how something so small can cause something so terrible.

The fires are so extensive on the South Coast, that NASA took a shot from space.

A few stories in the news today…..

http://www.vancitybuzz.com/2015/07/pemberton-wildfire-grows-24-times-size-overnight/

http://globalnews.ca/news/2093164/air-quality-advisory-issued-for-metro-vancouver-2/

http://www.vancouversun.com/news/Smoke+creates+eerie+morning+coast/11189684/story.html