The Oppenheimer Report 7/16/18

Today, I noticed a post on Facebook from my friend Mike Cardy, one of our local naturalists and wildlife experts. He commented on the dry weather we’ve had, and the fact that it is having a deleterious effect on local wildlife. Berry bushes and much of the vegetation upon which the wild animals around here feed are drying up. Presently, there is a complete fire ban in our area, and there have been reports of wildfires popping up around the region. I heard about one in Algonquin Park, and there was recently a fairly serious one up north in the vicinity of Temagami, northeast of Sudbury. In the past ten years or so since we moved up here, a lot of fuel has been accumulating in the woods around our house, and this of course concerns me. Most of the locals take these fire bans seriously, but some do not. As well, the visitors from the city, who come up here to camp for the weekend, might be even less inclined to heed a ban. It doesn’t take much to ignite a wildfire. The other day, as Shauna and I were on our way home from Huntsville, we came across someone burning brush somewhere far in from the road. We immediately called the fire department. Trouble was we called after 5PM, and no one answered, nor did anyone answer at the bylaw department in Huntsville. The fire departments around here are volunteer, which make prevention and vigilance all that much more important. There is an old  joke among some local volunteer fireman: “We’ve never lost a foundation.”

Wildfires were never something I worried about growing up in Buffalo (in Buffalo, the bigger concern was arson). The first wildfire I ever saw close up was on one of our drives out to Banff, somewhere on the plains of Saskatchewan. One fire had jumped the road just before we passed, and it was strange and unsettling to see flames on both sides of our car. At one time, Shauna and I did quite a lot of exploring and hiking on the Alberta/ B.C. border, and one summer was a particularly bad one for wild fires. I remember driving down through the Kootenay Park one day to hike near Radium, B.C. and there were wildfires just behind the mountains. I’ll never forget seeing a thick plume of smoke rising over the distant mountaintops, and wondering if we were in any danger. We were living in the town of Banff, and one day a nearby controlled burn went out of control. The wind shifted suddenly, and in a matter of hours the entire Bow Valley surrounding Banff filled up with smoke. That fire really alarmed me, because the air quality was so bad we had to stay inside. Flash fires like the one that levelled Slave Lake near Edmonton, Alberta are horrible reminders of how quickly these fires can go completely out of control.

Today we got a little of the desperately needed rain that will help re-foliate our parched landscape, but this mini draught is a subtle reminder that the fires we see in the news so often might someday visit us here in the Almaguin Highlands. Our little draught might be portents for things to come. As the planet heats up, I become more and more concerned about the ever-increasing supply of fuel in our surrounding woods, fuel which could feed a wildfire. 

Then again, upon consulting the news tonight, wildfires might be a preferable end to what seems to be the accelerating demise of mankind. I am told that the Rump has committed yet another unpardonable diplomatic blunder, this time throwing his entire country under the bus while meeting with (pandering to) Russian President Vladimir Putin. The other day, he walked in front of the Queen  (I’m just thankful he didn’t pinch her on her butt), and he’s been busy alienating every ally we used to have in the world. Six of one, or a half dozen of the other: wildfire or hellfire, take your pick.

 - Written by Jamie Oppenheimer c 2018 ALL RIGHTS RESERVED