It's on fire

The rainforest is burning.

Current BC Wildfire Service map, Aug. 22, 2018

Large areas of the province's wildfires are raging, with many areas under evacuation orders. The mid-province fire zone is dry country, prone to fires, burnt off only last year; this year, the fires feed on dry sticks left behind from previous fires.

But the coastal areas, our Vancouver Island neighbourhood, is rainforest. Rainforest with no rain. I counted 50 small fires in the northern part of the island on the map, with the Zeballos fire under an evacuation notice.

Most of the fires are started by lightning. I watched, once, years and years ago, as we sat under a tarp in our campsite, sheltering from the pouring rain. On the mountain face (Nusatsum) across the valley from us, lightning struck; immediately an answering flare shot up, a tree bursting into bright flame. And then, almost as quickly, the flame shrunk and died, sputtering out under the deluge.

This year, there's no deluge. The fires catch and grow, crackling through oily evergreen branches, jumping to the next tree, and the next.

We're breathing smoke. The sun is a pale orange, when it's visible. The moon turned up tonight, a pale yellowish shape in the haze.

On the Lower Mainland, an air quality alert is in effect. Older people, children, people with asthma and other lung complaints, etc. are warned to stay inside, out of the smoke.

Over here on the island, I'm staying inside, near my air scrubber. My throat hurts.

Coastal communities will see a gradual improvement in air quality beginning Thursday as Pacific air moves onshore. While the trough will deliver enhanced mixing of the atmosphere and even a chance of showers, the forecast rainfall amounts will do little to abate the current wildfires. Communities downwind of wildfires will continue to experience high concentrations of fine particulate matter and poor air quality for the foreseeable future. (East Van Isl. alert)

Rain! We need rain! Real rain, drenching, soaking, persistent rain, BC rain!

Smoke gets in your tentacles

I had a kitchen fire today. My fault entirely; I had made huevos rancheros for breakfast: two eggs, over easy, layered on a fried corn tortilla, smothered in hot sauce. Served with fresh coffee. I carried my food over to the table and ate, forgetting to turn off the burner under the frying pan. When I looked up, there was a haze of smoke over my head.*

I ran to the stove to turn it off, and as I reached for the fry pan, it burst into flames. And then I did another stupid thing; I grabbed the nearest thing, the French press full of fresh water for the next cup of coffee, and threw it on the fire. Smoke and steam billowed out, black oil spattered everywhere. But the fire was out, and I turned off the burner.

The smoke was so thick, I was choking, my eyes were streaming. I opened all the doors and windows and went outside until I could tolerate being inside again. Then, for the rest of the morning, I scrubbed. The stove, the counter, the fridge, the cupboard doors, the wall, the windows, everything glass in the whole apartment, the shelves, the collectibles ... It seemed that everything I looked at had a grey smoke film.

When I was working on the glass, I wiped down the sides of the aquarium. Then I noticed that all the anemones inside had shut down; even the usually happy pink-tipped anemones were puckered green blobs. The smoke had filtered down into the water.

I removed about a quarter of the water, and replaced it. The anemones opened up again.**

Pink-tipped green anemone, on the beach. Out of water, but still wet, and happy about life. No smoke.

And that make me think of the situation over this summer, where much of BC was on fire, when smoke hung over our island for weeks, hiding even Quadra Island, three kilometres away.

What effect did this have on our coastal waters? On the myriad critters who live, breathe, and eat underwater? And worse, what effect did it have on the intertidal animals, exposed to smoke in the air, smoke in the water?

*Another stupidity: I'd turned off the smoke alarm the other day, when it started screaming over the home-made soup boiling (not burning) on the stove. I'd forgotten to turn it back on again.***

**And now, I'll go out and bring home a whole tank full of fresh seawater for my poor intertidal critters.

***Next time, I'll set a timer if I have to turn off the smoke alarm. Or maybe I'll just stop making soup.