2019 Fire Season: Alberta Bound

This year I was lucky enough to receive the Wildland Fire Digital Story Telling Grant through the American Wildfire Experience. My vision with this grant was to bring to light the changing conditions Wildfire Fighters are experiencing and the ever-mounting challenges we face. By documenting what we call “the new normal” through the eyes of a Wildfire Fighter I hope to bring people face to face with the affects of climate change and show how it’s manifesting itself in the world around us. I hope by contributing to the story of Wildfire we can start connecting some crucial pieces to the puzzle of how to live alongside these natural phenomenas.

2019 was a much needed recovery year for British Columbia’s Wildfire Service but that didn’t mean that Canadian Wildfire Firefighters got to take the summer off. While BC recovered with cooler temperatures Northern Alberta experienced an unprecedented fire season. Extreme drought conditions in extreme fuel types set the stage for some of the most volatile fire behaviour that the Rangers had ever encountered. Alberta’s wildfire fighting capacity was stretched to the limits with a total of 803,000 hectares of forest burnt between March 1st and June 24th. Resources from all over Canada and the US were being poured into the firefighting effort with the majority, including ourselves, heading to the High Level fire. With a grande total of 350,134 hectares burnt and roughly 4750 people evacuated this fire was the provinces top priority wildfire. The Rangers spent two back-to-back 19 day deployments in High Level fighting the odds as temperatures sat in the high 20s low 30s coupled with low humidity and frequent wind events that gusted up to 75 km/hr. With drought conditions so extreme that old prediction models where being rendered irrelevant operations was having a hard time coming up with a viable game plan that didn’t compromise their crews safety and we watched as an 80,000 hectare fire continued to relentlessly double in size under these unfavourable conditions. We were constantly beat back and tactical withdrawals from the line were a regular occurrence. When fire behaviour is that intense, crews work on steering the fire in certain directions and away from valuables. Indirect tactics such as large scale burn offs were highly effective and created a buffer zone around the town of High Level. By the end of June the weather finally started to turn and it looked like Alberta would be in the rear view mirror for the rest of the summer.

The rest of the season was spent in the Coastal mountains of the NorthWest were we faced steep terrain and challenging danger trees. Coastal trees tend to be much bigger and in this particular stand the Hemlocks were exceptionally dangerous. Common characteristics were rotten holes half way up the stem that would catch on fire and burn the tree from the inside out almost undetected. By the time the tree was ready to fail it was too late to anything about it and a 150 foot high tree with a diameter of 4 feet would snap in half and slam into the ground with a crash like thunder. Every day you'd hear the cannon-like booms and hope that the next one wasn’t going to be too close. However the Danger Tree Fallers were exceptional at getting to the trees that posed a threat to our ground crews and there was almost no close calls. I’m sure the fallers would beg to differ.

As the season winds down and comes to an end our days are filled with Fuel Management Projects, training and, as always, speculation. It’s hard to say wether or not the upcoming fire seasons will reflect what has become the ‘new normal’. It seems that if British Columbia isn’t having a record breaking fire season you merely have to look to one of our fellow Provinces to see that they’re engaged in a dog fight similar to that which we experienced over the last couple years. Wildfire is unpredictable and you can’t be sure whats going to happen until it’s right on your doorstep. The BC Wildfire Service is taking more action than ever to ensure that preventative measures are put in place to lessen the effects of Wildfire. The trend of bad wildfire seasons definitely seems to be on the rise but so does our ability to adapt, handle and understand these natural phenomena. I hope that these images provide a little insight into what that looks like and that you come away with better understanding of what it means to be a Wildfire Fighter.

2018 Fire Season: A glimpse into BC's State of Emergency

Wrapping up another crazy fire year. The last couple of years have been unprecedented fire seasons which have forced the provincial government to declare back-to-back State of Emergencies. 2017 racked up a total of 1.2 million hectares burnt with 2018 surpassing with a total of 1.3 million hectares. Considering the average hectares burnt over the last 10 years sits at around 151,041 it’s needless to say the BC wildfire services capacity to handle these anomalies gets quickly overwhelmed.

This post chronicles the Telkwa Rangers 2018 season. Our deployments took us across the province fighting fires in the North West, Prince George and Kamloops Fire Centres.

India, India, India

India, India, India... Our time here was short lived (just 6 days) but man was it wild. I think my good bud Wilson put it best when he said "If you go day without seeing or experiencing something totally bizarre then you've had a weird day." Things like five legged cows painted blue and worshipped on the street outside your hostel quickly become the norm. A complete stranger once handed me his screaming baby then disappeared into the night without any further explanation. Without a doubt it is the most exotic place I've ever been to and the whole experience is just so uniquely Indian.  

Our time in India coincided nicely with the Pushkar Camel Mela; one of the worlds largest gatherings of livestock. For a week the town of Pushkar goes bat shit insane when devout worshippers descend on the small town to bathe in it's holy Ghaats. This in its self would have been a spectacle but people decided that this would be a great time to sell a bunch of camels, and so the Mela was born. An estimated 11'000 camels, horses and cattle compliment the 400'000 people that meet here every year. Needless to say it's a pretty intense scene.

Tents to house the mass of camel herders spring up on the out skirts of town along with a fair ground complete with a circus and amusement rides. The rides I advise against, the idea that any safety official made any attempt what so ever to thoroughly inspect these death machines is laughable. That being said we did indulge on a particularly rickety looking  Ferris wheel. The contraption is operated by a guy slamming his foot down on a gas pedal! They had literally just gutted an automotive engine and hooked the drive belts onto the Ferris wheels drive shaft.  The operator even manually shifts the gears. The carriages that you sit in have no barrier between you and the 50 foot plummet but the g-force pins you to the side as affectively as any seat belt.

The festival was a unique insight into the lives of surrounding tribes that flock here for business. Wandering through the tents you get a glimpse into the nomadic lifestyle these herdsman live. Camels streaming in from the surrounding desert having been herded vast distances to reach this final destination . Witnessing this traditional festival afforded a surreal glimpse into a traditional way of life that has been intertwined with the modernity of the 21st century.

Nepal (Part 2) Jungle to Alpine

Those last steps that take you across the treeline-alpine threshold are, in my experience, always the most rewarding. Scenic vistas unfold before your eyes and an uninhibited mountain breeze never fails to refresh the soul. The cool mountain air of alpine was never more appreciated than on this trek because the first 5 days sees you through a thick and clammy jungle. Temperatures were high, along with humidity levels, ensuring that a consistent and liberal river of sweat flowed forth.

This climate was maintained for the first 2000m or so and we were starting to wonder if we had over packed; seeing as how the use of a sleeping bag was a kin to a sweat lodge and the mere thought of a down jacket was enough to contemplate throwing it away. This is where you take advantage of those bucket showers because the climate flips a switch faster than you'd ever expect. One day you're blinking sweat out of your eyes, the next you're chipping ice off the rim of your Nalgene. 

For those of you who have never delighted in a Nepalese bucket shower it becomes both a dreaded experience and a luxury. Considering I had mentally prepared to skinny dip in mountain streams, I was pleasantly surprised to find that most places could facilitate a decent amount of privacy if not comfort. Many guesthouses have signs promising hot showers. Once you realize that these are nothing more than fictitious lies existing only to lure the ignorant, you can move on and face the reality. Most endeavours went something like this:

Step 1: finding the tap. It's usually located in the stone shack you assumed was for firewood on the way in.

Step 2: finding the bucket. Usually next to the tap but I had to consult with the kitchen staff a couple of times. They were using it to cook that nights meal (one of those things you try and forget).

Step 3: mental preparedness. Things are going to turn blue and brain freeze is inevitable.

Step 4: a new person. You learn to love it. 

 

The Manaslu Circuit to the local population is a supply route that has been used since antiquity to move goods up and down the Himalayas. There are no roads so the Nepalese rely on their bodies as well as their animals to transport food and supplies across the mountain range.

The first time you witness the hardiness of Nepalese porters, grinding their way up a Himalayan slope, is truly humbling. Sometimes the porter evades sight and all that is seen is a monumental stack of sugar cane lumbering it's way up a mountain, seemingly of its own accord. This is made even more impressive by the fact that they use their head to carry most of the load. A strap around the forehead supports the burden on their back.

The alternative, to porters, is using either donkeys or yaks. For this reason there exists a close relationship between the people and their livestock, a relationship I chose to focus on when photographing my experience. Mules that are considered the best pack leaders are often dressed up in extravagant head pieces to represent their superior status among the herd. This extends to yaks, horses and cattle who are often seen sporting decorative necklaces or ear pieces. The one piece of advice everyone loves to share is to ensure you are on the inside lane when donkeys pass. From what I've heard more than a few trekkers have met there end by being pushed off the side of a mountain. 

These shots show the transition from jungle to alpine with a placed emphasis on the livestock that I found to be so representative of the Nepalese people.

 

Nepal: (Part 1) Into the Tsum

Nepal is a country that has held an allure over me for many years now. A mecca for those who yearn to travel off the beaten path and a place to test ones-self mentally, physically and spiritually.

Before setting foot in Nepal there are some important questions to ask yourself, such as, what is the least amount of underwear you can make last 20 days? Or, should you invest in over-the-counter anti diarrheal meds or put your faith in the shelf stuff?  And, is it a good idea to maintain a vegetarian diet or risk it for the love of protein? Amongst these pressing issues there is one question that requires attention above all else and that is, what is the perfect Nepalese trek? I can't vouch for much but I can say that the Manaslu Circuit was everything I hoped Nepal to be. Challenging, rugged and remote, this trek is far less developed than other routes and culturally enticing. It has a starting elevation of 600m and climbs it's way up to the Larkya La pass at 5163m while circling the 8th highest mountain in the world, the Manaslu Himal. The Tsum Valley branches out into ancient Tibetan territory, giving the circuit a unique blend of rural Nepali and Tibetan life styles. A real adventure that shouldn't be attempted by those who are unwilling to indulge in an icy bucket shower or spend a night in sub zero temperatures with a tent that has no zipper.

Anyway, I'll let my photographs do the rest of the speaking. These shots cover the first half of our 17 day trek which took us from Soti Khola (600m) to Mu Gumba (3700m) a Buddhist monastery at the end of the Tsum Valley.