Northern Canada is burning. It’s bad.

[Runcharger]

Hoping the best for you. It's been another bad year. We've been evacuated twice but it's a lot worse deal when you have to be flown out.

 

[Sahara]

Haven’t updated this in quite a while. So far the fire is right at the edge of town but they have held it off so far. Tomorrow and Saturday are supposed to be difficult as the wind is supposed to pick up.
Our cat rescue numbers have grown, three were picked up by their owners but we took in four more yesterday. And a DOG! Cora is a sweetheart. Big, powerful, but very loving. So numbers are now seventeen cats and one dog.
Hopefully we can all return to our homes and lives soon.

 

[patrick66]

How difficult is it to get a ham radio license in Canada? That is a great alternative to cells and landlines, especially in emergencies like wildfires, hurricanes and ice storms. There are portable ham radios available, as well. I've been tossing around getting my FCC license and getting into ham radio. I know several folks locally that have them.

I'm glad to see you are all doing OK, considering the fire craziness going on!

 

[qkcuda]

I was thinking about you again when they said Yellowknife was better, but Hay River was still at risk. Hopefully they are able to hold it at bay.

 

[Sahara]

How difficult is it to get a ham radio license in Canada? That is a great alternative to cells and landlines, especially in emergencies like wildfires, hurricanes and ice storms. There are portable ham radios available, as well. I've been tossing around getting my FCC license and getting into ham radio. I know several folks locally that have them.

I'm glad to see you are all doing OK, considering the fire craziness going on!

I have a ham set up. The licence plate to the left is my callsign. The only way ham would have worked is if I was set up for HF in my vehicle. I never bothered because our winters eat expensive electronic devices. VHF would work if there were more hams up here but I’m the only ham in Hay River, the nearest are in Yellowknife more then 100 miles away in a straight line.

 

[Sahara]

I was thinking about you again when they said Yellowknife was better, but Hay River was still at risk. Hopefully they are able to hold it at bay.

Yellowknife never was in any real sort of danger. Their trees are only about ten feet tall and it’s mostly rock up there. A bad wind could still screw them up but for the most part the town would survive.
Hay River and Fort Smith both are in thick, old growth forest. So far the crews have held the fire off but right now it is literally at the edge of town and Friday and Saturday are supposed to be windy. Wind is what will decide how this goes.

 

[moparedtn]

Yellowknife never was in any real sort of danger. Their trees are only about ten feet tall and it’s mostly rock up there. A bad wind could still screw them up but for the most part the town would survive.
Hay River and Fort Smith both are in thick, old growth forest. So far the crews have held the fire off but right now it is literally at the edge of town and Friday and Saturday are supposed to be windy. Wind is what will decide how this goes.

continue for you folks...

 

[71dodgechargerrt]

Was wondering yesterday Garth about how things worked out for you.
wish you all the best. Stay safe.

 

[Sahara]

https://cbchls.akamaized.net/delive...0-50-52/guest-Linda-Garth-Carman_5000kbps.mp4

The CBC did a follow up interview with us yesterday. Not as good as the first one, I don’t think this guy really “got” us like the lady a few weeks ago did. It’s very bizarre; you set up the technical stuff then sit back and watch as they lead up to you. Suddenly you are on live, being watched by millions. No retakes, no editing. The entire process is fascinating.
Today the fire is less than a mile from our house. The foto was taken down the road, directly west of our place.

 

[Sahara]

Rain! Glorious rain! Over an inch this morning. It poured.
Rain doesn’t put out a forest fire but it certainly slows it down.
This one has burned so deep into the ground that the rain won’t reach it but it will certainly slow the advance and cool things down.

 

[MoparMur]

Good for you folks! Hope it pours again tonight!

 

[Sahara]

We are home after exactly a month of evacuation.
It is a very different landscape. Hundreds of miles of destruction. Think about that for a second: driving for HOURS through a burned landscape.
Hay River is still not out of danger. The fire is about a half a mile away, burning in the swamps to the west and a few miles north and east. The air is bad.
If you’ve been following this or know about me you are aware that we rescued ultimately 17 cats and a dog. Most have been returned to their owners except two. We kept the big gassy dog Cora, and the little black pound cat Stanley.
If you are bored and haven’t seen it yet there is an interview with us on the CBC national news. It describes how the world is dependant on electronic communications and how things fall apart without them, and how if I had left a few minutes earlier I would have died screaming in the ditch with eight rescued cats. Google my name, Garth Carman and it will pop up. And be prepared, people. You never know when things can go horribly wrong in a hurry.

 

[haywire 440]

Garth, it’s good to know you’re back in your home. What a devastating, exhausting and scary account of escape from the ravages of the fires. I hope the good folks up there with you get respite and the help to recuperate and recover.

Cora looks trilled to have such a good Pal and Stanley looks content!

 

[71dodgechargerrt]

Good to hear you are back home Garth. I can't imagine all you have been through.
A lot of people must be grateful you looked after their animals and retuned them
safely. Nice looking dog. Take care.

 

[Runcharger]

Glad you're back home. I can't imagine all the wildlife lost in these disasters.

 

[Sahara]

Glad you're back home. I can't imagine all the wildlife lost in these disasters.

I will be forever scarred by the stuff I saw burned alive in the ditch. And that’s just the stuff I saw.

 

[slepr1]

With so many people living paycheck to paycheck how are the people coping with the lose of income? Especially if they are evacuated for a month their costs go up with extra accommodations and other needs.

 

[Sahara]

With so many people living paycheck to paycheck how are the people coping with the lose of income? Especially if they are evacuated for a month their costs go up with extra accommodations and other needs.

We are blessed in that we both have good jobs and had money put away and a support network of friends.
But people were absolutely amazing. I evacuated initially to Fort Resolution. This is a tough native town where you can still get called a ******* whitey. I used to be scared to be there after dark, and I work there periodically for the government.
I show up broke, with only the clothes on my back and eight rescue cats. There is no internet, no phone, no communications of any kind. No way to get gas to leave town. I am screwed.
The store fronts me gas. Total strangers offer me money. People brought me supper and showed concern for me. It was freaking awesome.
Those that aren’t so fortunate got food vouchers from the gov’t and gas cards and hotel rooms.
The ones that really suffer are the stores, and especially the restaurants. They evacuate in the spring and have to throw out food and have no customers. Then again now. We will be lucky if we have ANY restaurants still in business, and that’s a shame.
Tourism. Who is going to come to see hundreds of miles of burned forest?

 

[Skytrooper]

I am relieved, as I am sure you are, that you are back home. Hurray to you for your rescues. That is awesome in my book ! Know too well the devastation wildfires create. I have personal experience fighting them. Do not dwell on the terrible things you saw. Take solace in Cora. You saved her and Stanley from the same fate…along with the other pets that you rescued and returned to their homes. God bless you !

 

[f569]

God bless you guys, glad you are able to return to your home!
.