Evacuation FUN!

[Mr. R]

I live in the north of Canada and now with out really hot and dry summer we have had more than our share of wildfires.  

 

One community called Enterprise was completely wiped out and the surrounding forests are black, soot covered and desolate.

 

My community called Yellowknife underwent a forced evacuation.  Twenty thousand people (yes 20000) were ordered to vacate the city within 48 hours.  (cut off was Friday August 18 noon).

Reason: a wildfire fifteen (15)  outside city limits.  Oh and the only road going OUT of town heads right through that fire.  (I wish I were making this up as a hollywood screen writer would be laughed at if he came up with this story)

 

So packing the barest essentials (cell phone + charger, camera + charger, External Hard Drive for my desk top I had to leave behind, Work related lap top, clothing for 5 days, three books, and essential ID material) I managed to hitch a ride with a friend and we left on Thursday. 

 

Finally as of 5 pm my time, I arrived safely in Calgary.  For now I am going to stay with my friend's family until I get an idea of how long we will be out for.

 

I will say it has been an interesting experience, but once in a lifetime is more than enough!

[Bazza]

All the best. 

[Pariah]

Glad to hear you're okay. Best to you and your family.

[Old Man]

Stay safe R, we just had a crash course down here in how quickly fires can get out of control.  Enjoy your time in Calgary. 

[unclevlad]

Some years back, I'd driven up to Denver for a gaming con.

 

The day I drove back, there was a quite significant fire that'd been burning for a few days...and I actually ran into ashfall driving down I-25.  The alternative would've been to take 285 down...MUCH longer, MUCH slower, and totally in the WRONG direction.  NEARER the fire zone.

 

So, it really is...well, possibly unlikely just due to the combination of circumstances...but by NO means unbelievable.  It's the nature of fires, particularly in less developed areas.

[Trencher]

Good luck and keep us posted!

[death tribble]

Stay safe Mr R.

The wildfires have made the news and Yellowknife was already well known to people outside Canada and this had noting to do with fire or disaster or anything criminal.

[Bazza]

A quick messsge of support to those near San Diego. 

[Mr. R]

Thank you all!

[Hugh Neilson]

That really brings the issue home - I'm in Edmonton, and of course both Enterprise and Yellowknife have been prominent in local news, but it's not as real until you communicate with someone directly affected.

 

Best wishes for a quick return, and an efficient rebuild.

[Duke Bushido]

If it cheers you up any, I read the thread title with a medical-field perspective and was absolutely horrified that nine people wanted to discuss that with you....   

 

I hope fate is with you and your community, Sir.  As a guy who spent thirty years living in hurricane country, you have my empathy on the misery of evacuation. 

 

 

[tkdguy]

Stay safe, Mr. R! I hope everything turns out all right.

[Pariah]

I talked to my Dad in northern Colorado this evening. He says the smoke from that fire has reached all the way there. Yikes.

 

I hope they're able to get that thing under control and you can go back home soon.

.

Edited August 21, 2023 by Pariah

[Lawnmower Boy]

I hope evacuation life treats you well, Mr. R. I'd have replied earlier but it turns out that late August isn't a quiet time for local grocery stores when the locals can't vacation in Hawaii, the Okanagan, California, and the steadily growing list of other local apocalypses.

 

Speaking of which, any hope of getting California and Nevada's spare rain? When you're done with it, no rush.

 

(That's a lie. I need it by next weekend, when my Okanagan bike trip starts.) 

Edited August 21, 2023 by Lawnmower Boy

[death tribble]

My eyes and brain are playing tricks on me. Some times I am reading the title of the thread as Excavation Fun ! and wondering what digging is going on.

[Tech]

20 minutes ago, death tribble said:

My eyes and brain are playing tricks on me. Some times I am reading the title of the thread as Excavation Fun ! and wondering what digging is going on.

Same here.

[Mr. R]

Quote

21 hours ago, Duke Bushido said:

If it cheers you up any, I read the thread title with a medical-field perspective and was absolutely horrified that nine people wanted to discuss that with you....   

 

2 hours ago, death tribble said:

My eyes and brain are playing tricks on me. Some times I am reading the title of the thread as Excavation Fun ! and wondering what digging is going on.

 

 

 

 

Well thank you for the much needed laughs.  Appreciated!

[DShomshak]

Stay as safe as you can, Mr R. After all, you need to finish your work on Aerelious.

 

I dare say many of us will learn the "fun" of wildfire evacuations in the coming years. ☹️

 

Dean Shomshak

[Ragitsu]

Does anyone else here find it pathetic that our species has yet to devise an all-encompassing rapid-response fire suppression technology capable of dousing these wildfires in an extremely short timeframe? As residents of this biosphere, we are keenly aware of ecological disasters (natural as well as anthropogenic) and yet we seem to pour more effort into methods of murder than ways of safeguarding ourselves from the attendant hazards of the only habitable region in this universe.

[Old Man]

1 hour ago, Ragitsu said:

Does anyone else here find it pathetic that our species has yet to devise an all-encompassing rapid-response fire suppression technology capable of dousing these wildfires in an extremely short timeframe? As residents of this biosphere, we are keenly aware of ecological disasters (natural as well as anthropogenic) and yet we seem to pour more effort into methods of murder than ways of safeguarding ourselves from the attendant hazards of the only habitable region in this universe.

 

Not me.   What would such a technology even look like?  We just had a wildfire flare up across the street from a historic town, and in less than an hour that entire town was on fire.  Eighty mile an hour winds pushed it at the speed of a running human and raised temps to higher than that of a crematorium.  You can't fly in 80mph winds.

 

Murder is way easier than fighting wildfires.

[Lord Liaden]

 

Edited August 21, 2023 by Lord Liaden

[Ragitsu]

Humanity does nothing but stave off/modify/conquer nature through the majority of its actions; sometimes we succeed and sometimes we fail, but we don't appear to be throwing in the towel any time soon.

 

Clothes? Warding off the elements.

Structures? Ditto, but writ large.

Artificially generated electricity? Heating, cooling, food preservation, powering all that lovely information technology...the uses are endless.

Plumbing? We don't solely reside adjacent to entirely natural water sources.

Weapons? The aforementioned (homo sapiens) murder was mentioned, but a spear or rifle is also handy for fending off beasts.

Medicine? A continuous struggle against microorganisms, our very own biology and plain old external misfortune.

 

If there is even a hint of a possibility of deliberate and precise weather modification tech on the horizon, you can bet your bottom dollar that we'll chase that to the ends of the Earth.

Edited August 21, 2023 by Ragitsu

[Lord Liaden]

Droughts. Floods. Tornadoes. Earthquakes. Hurricanes. Volcanoes. Tsunamis. We've faced them for the entirety of Mankind's existence on this planet. Every year they take many lives, cause widespread and costly property damage. Collectively we have enormous incentive to use our technology to control them.

 

Instead we focus on finding better ways to survive them, and perhaps predict them. Because we can't control them. They're bigger than us. They may not always be, but they are now, and for the foreseeable future.

[Lord Liaden]

55 minutes ago, Ragitsu said:

Humanity does nothing but stave off/modify/conquer nature through the majority of its actions; sometimes we succeed and sometimes we fail, but we don't appear to be throwing in the towel any time soon.

 

Clothes? Warding off the elements.

Structures? Ditto, but writ large.

Artificially generated electricity? Heating, cooling, food preservation, powering all that lovely information technology...the uses are endless.

Plumbing? We don't solely reside adjacent to entirely natural water sources.

Weapons? The aforementioned (homo sapiens) murder was mentioned, but a spear or rifle is also handy for fending off beasts.

Medicine? A continuous struggle against microorganisms, our very own biology and plain old external misfortune.

 

If there is even a hint of a possibility of deliberate and precise weather modification tech on the horizon, you can bet your bottom dollar that we'll chase that to the ends of the Earth.

 

Clothes have limits to what they can protect us from. Structures become deathtraps under certain natural conditions. Our electrical grids have repeatedly proven vulnerable to overtaxing. Our ability to redistribute water is being strained, threatening the survival of our largest cities. The ability to kill is something every dumb brute has. And you hit the nail on the head with medicine: Struggle. We win victories, but sooner or later Nature brings another champion to the field.

 

We build our enclaves all over the world and claim that makes us its masters. On that basis ants could make the same claim.

Edited August 21, 2023 by Lord Liaden

[Lord Liaden]

And to steer away from the philosophical indulgence 😔, this season has united the United States and Canada in suffering, as these disasters hit us both hard. It's particularly disturbing for Canadians to witness how far north this is spreading. We're not used to that. It's a warning that no place on Earth will be safe for us from the changes coming to the planet.