We had supper at a friend's the other night and you should see this place - just beautiful! It is called "The Rock" and if you have ever been on the backside of the Banff Springs Hotel and seen where the hotel was built right on the rock face - you can picture just what I mean. Very nice! I also saw my dream greenhouse here and I am hoping Tim can come close to replicating it (Imitation is the best form of flattery!) once we get settled again. It was a balmy 17 degrees so we had a nice supper by the firepit and the kids ran free - always excited to have a new and different place to play. The view from there is also amazing, as we watched eagles soar over the river valley. The same valley where this lady spotted a grizzly the day before out for a walk - following the path that she watched the wolves go on over the winter, likely looking for a moose kill to have a first meal of the season at.
Spring has definitely sprung and I can smell the forest waking up. When the sun shines on the pine, spruce, balsam and juniper, these evergreens give off a scent that is almost intoxicating. In fact, the first thing I do every summer when we get close to the claim is open the window up wide and breathe it in deep. I have to be careful doing this on the quad though, as yesterday I swallowed a fly...
We wrapped up the practical part of our fire course this morning, yesterday was the classroom portion. We now are the proud owners of a wallet card saying we have completed the S-100 Fire Suppression and Safety Course by BC Forestry. It is something you need in BC in order to be called to assist in fighting forest fires. Although the chances of us ever doing this are slim, as we live in Alberta the rest of our lives, if we are ever at the claim in the event of a fire - we now know what to do. We can rank a fire by looking at the smoke color and quantity, and this is helpful information when reporting a wildfire. If it is Rank 1 - they know they have a bit of time to work with providing there are no weather changes, but if it is Rank 4 or 5 (6 is the highest -these are the fires that create their own weather - wind and lightning) they know they need to get there in a real hurry! We also watched a video of a controlled burn, and I am glad I saw that. I had no idea how fast a fire could move through the forest. I naively thought you could get out of the way of a fire in time, but I now know this is far from the truth if it is a Rank 4 or 5 fire. We also learned to assess how much fuel is available to the fire, and how wind and slope multiply the speed of the fire, also important factors when reporting a fire. How to enter and exit a helicopter, how to start a pump, lay out hose, roll up a hose, etc. was also covered. This is expected to be a big year for fires if it is dry with all the "Red and Dead" aka beetle killed trees. Once the needles have fallen off the trees, the risk is greatly lessened - something I did not know. If BC can get through the next few years, when all the needles have left the dead trees, everyone can probably start feeling a little better about the fire risk. Hearing some of the things forest fire fighters have to deal with on the job also made me realize how scary a job it can be and that they are really risking their lives in some situations - a big thank you to them!
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