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The Forest Fire

By Gilbert Griffiths

About three weeks ago, a thunder storm passed through this area. It was just a run of the mill storm, so I never gave it much thought. My mind was on the southern part of Saskatchewan which was being flooded out by continuous rain. The fact that we hadn't had much rain left me feeling relieved that we didn't have to worry about flooding here.

Little did I know that the storm resulted in a lightning strike in a heavily forested area between the communities of Cranberry Portage and Sherridon, Manitoba. As we blithely went about our business and worried about friends and relatives flooded out in southern Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba, this conflagration continued to grow.

About a week or so after the lightning strike, we began to notice a light haze in the sky and could smell smoke in the air. Living amongst the rocks and forests of this part of the prairie provinces, smelling smoke in the summer is common, so no one got too concerned. Then, during the week of June 20 to June 26, 2010 the smoke got thicker and reports of voluntary evacuations from Cranberry Portage and nearby hamlets began to circulate. The fire which had grown to over 45,000 hectares (close to 100,000 acres) became a concern. By this time, water bombers, helicopters equipped with water baskets, and some 400 firefighters from Manitoba, Ontario, Minnesota, Wisconsin and British Columbia were involved in trying to suppress it.

Mandatory evacuations of campsites in Grass River Provincial Park and Bakers Narrows Provincial Park were ordered. The fire was within 10 Kilometres of Cranberry Portage and 13 Kilometres of Bakers Narrows where the Flin Flon airport is located. On Friday morning, June 25, the smoke was so thick you couldn't see Flin Flon which, as the crow flies, is less than a mile from our home. Everyone that did not have to be outside was warned to stay inside as the smoke and fumes burned your eyes and throat, making breathing difficult. Extra water bombers, helicopters and firefighters were rushed in, bringing the total to 13 water bombers, 13 helicopters and 432 firefighters. About noon, a strong wind came up and the smoke was all blown away. Little did we know that from noon on Friday to noon on Saturday, the fire would grow about 7000 hectares in size, bringing it to 55,000 hectares or about 136,000 acres. Mandatory evacuations were being considered.

Over the weekend winds from the southeast increased in speed and at times reached 50 to 60 mph. However, the increase in men and equipment held the fire in check and no further increase in size occurred. By July 2, 2010, all evacuation orders were removed and the campgrounds in the provincial parks were reopened. The Conservation Department of the Manitoba Government advised that since the fire is located in a prime timber area, it has a lot of fuel available, and it could burn for weeks, but they feel, barring a major change in environmental conditions, that it should not increase in size.

Last night we had another thunder storm, accompanied by a major rainfall, so the danger should be lessened now. It has been a stressful two weeks, and I'm looking forward to a less tense summer. Having to evacuate and not knowing if you will come back to a house or a pile of ashes and the loss of all your possessions is not something that I want to go through.

Contributor's Note

Photos courtesy of Dale Streamer of Streamers Hardware in Cranberry Portage, Manitoba

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Birdhouse Publishing
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It is. As a teenager growing up on Vancouver Island, I was hired to fight a forest fire. Late the first night, a strong wind came up and turned a smoldering nearly out fire into a roaring monster. It sounded like a huge train as it moved. Trees a mile in front of the fire would suddenly burst into flames and then the fire would race across the treetops to catch up with the fire started by the bursting tree. At one point the fire came up to a 300 foot tall rock wall. There were three roaring whoosh sounds and the fire jumped right up the rock wall into the forest on top. The group that I was with spent the night putting out spot fires 10 miles in front of the main fire. These were started by embers carried by the wind. Just before sunrise, the wind switched around 180 degrees and blew the fire back on itself. It then started to rain heavily and by 10 am the fire was out. A forest fire is not something I would ever want to go through again...they are just too unpredictable.
gilbertg

Bing Jul 5, 2010 18:41

Yes, it is a terrible experience living within range of a forest fire. My whole family have been involved in the Crisis Centre here in the Okanagan where for a couple of years now our communities have been plagued by forest fires.

By the by .. I was born in Flin Flon, Manitoba and it's good to hear about that area. Thank you.

Hi Laraine,

Small world. I was born in New Westminster and raised in Fanny Bay on Vancouver Island. Flin Flon is much more modern now, even if the population is a little lower than it was a few years ago. The smelter shut down in June and now there is just the concentrator, the zinc plant and Triple Seven mine. South main is gone and north main is mined out and will probably be torn down too. We now have a Walmart, Extra Foods and a Canadian Tire. Some businesses on Main Street closed and others have changed ownership or moved to a new location, but other than that and the fact that there is much more traffic, things aren't all that different. My wife and I retired here in 2001 and over the last nine years we have loved every minute of it.

gilbertg

PS I'm aware of the fires there...I drove through the area that was burned on Highway 5 north of Kamloops a few years ago.

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