New Fire North of us, discovered today

 

Today and Four More Days

Those cool damp days in August were nice - getting tired of the hot ones now. It is cooler than the valley, and the light breeze helps. The drifting smoke, not so much. 

Visible Signs

Gone are the days when a first responder could call one of our local paramedics and ask for directions. If you are calling 911, hopefully you have someone who can wait down at the entrance to the ski area and lead them in.

As an interim step, I have again volunteered to refinish the old street signs. The reflective glass beads will be applied tonight. Thanks to Wayne Dennill for volunteering to take the signs down and put them back up.

Many cabins do not have house numbers posted. Many of the posted ones are not visible in the winter.

Looking into the options for reflective community signs is an example of a project that someone in the village could take on. Approach council, and or the community association and do the research. You do the leg work, the council and community association can figure out where some funding can come from. 

ER Closure Again at SOGH - 1:00pm today to 7:00am Tuesday

 https://www.castanet.net/news/Oliver-Osoyoos/569775/South-Okanagan-General-Hospital-emergency-room-closing-afternoon-overnight#569775

Wildfire Smoke

It is hazy tonight, and my airways are reacting. Fortunate to have made it to the end of August without having to close all the doors and windows.

Of the four wildfires directly north of us, one is out of control, one is "being held" and two are under control. There is another out of control fire farther north, and east. 

The smoke forecast sight is inconclusive - this could be coming from several places.

August Hike, led by Marian and Cheryl

 

Hello Baldy Babes,

A perfect day for a summer hike on our beautiful Mt. Baldy. Cheryl and I greeted our hikers at the Lodge.

We hiked up the Baldy Trail to Webster Trail and up Jaeger Meister to Dead End and down to the Stripper Pole for photos and hydration. We headed back to the Lodge for Baldy Mountain Resorts BBQ out at the picnic tables. Trevor, Quinn and Brandan kept us well fed and quenched. We even had some retail therapy in the newly renovated Guest Services.

Looking forward to seeing your smiling faces next year!

Take Care, Marian

Fresh BCWF Flagging Tape

Fresh tape just below the intersection of Baldy and McKinney Roads, and again at the 201/akaBaldy FSR.

No new fires on the app - looks like directional markers for crews attending the fires noted below.

Earlier in the fire season, you could look up how many crews, air craft etc were active on each fire. Now it just says suppression is happening. 

Some of the lightning north of us last night started fires..............

 This image from the BCWF map - I like to enlarge a bit so it seems like the fires are farther away. ;)

What is it going to take to "re-ignite" FireSmart Work in Our Community?

• If you have pine trees on your property that seeded after the fire 95 years ago, you have dead and dying trees on your property, and a carpet of pine needles on the ground if you aren't raking twice a year.
• You probably have some healthy trees of other species that can thrive when out from under the canopy of those old pines.
• Fact - dead trees, and almost dead trees have been snapping and coming down, some hitting structures, others almost.
• The RDKB offers a free assessment of your property that will help guide you through the FireSmart process - only 37 property owners have taken advantage of this from 2022 to the start of this season
• The RDKB commits to not sharing your assessment with any othe party
• IF YOU HAVE THE ASSESSMENT DONE, THERE IS GRANT MONEY TO HELP YOU WITH COST OF DOING THE FIRESMART WORK!
• Time is running out for this season, get an assessment now, and talk to the assessor. The rebates are available until the end of October or when the money runs out. A the moment, there is still rebate funding available, and assessments end at the end of October.
• There are RDKB mitigation folks to talk to.

https://emergency.rdkb.com/FireSmart  

• Talk to your neighbours - if they aren't blog readers, give them the above link.
• We've been lucky this year, but the fire season is not over.
• Get working now - there is no guarantee on the fire danger for next year.
• It doesn't all have to be done at once - get started with the little things around your home. and make the first 1.5m around the home fuel free.

Lots of graphics and info:

firesmartbc.ca

Dry Lightning to the North

Just after 2:00pm we had 4 recorded lightning strikes north of Baldy. Lightning tracker shows a large cluster of new strikes south west of Beaverdell. If you hike to the top this weekend, have the BC Wildfire App on your phone. If any of these flare up, you can report smoke with photos on the app.