Big Fire on Galiano Island

[Koastal Karl]

I just saw on CH noon news that there is a big fire on Galiano Island and over 200 people have been evacuated. I dident catch the first part but I saw Deborah Marshall on the news.

Here is the news release

www.bcferries.com/news/files/06-043traveltogaliano.pdf

People are encouraged not to travel to Galiano Island except emergency response crews, ect..

[islander]

You can see the fire coming up to Georgina pt, and smell the smoke in active pass.

[Mike C]

Apparently you can see the fire from Tsawwassen Ferry Terminal. That's where Global was filming.

[kylefossett]

saw the fire last night on board the nanaimo as we were coming out of active pass at about 5:30 last night

[Low Light Mike]

karl said:

I saw Deborah Marshall on the news.
..

Ms. Marshall was looking fine on the TV News today. If you looked closely, you could see the Mattel sticker on her side.......

re the fire today, in Nanaimo we had the Martin Mars waterbomber pass directly over my office building twice: very loud and a pretty exciting experience to see it pass overhead. It was likely going to the smaller fire at Mt. Benson in Nanaimo.

[Balfour]

flugelhorn said:

karl said:

I saw Deborah Marshall on the news.
..

Ms. Marshall was looking fine on the TV News today. If you looked closely, you could see the Mattel sticker on her side.......

So, Deborah is plastic after all...


Regarding the fires,

I'm not surprised by this at all. We haven't had any considerable rainfall since May, so it's looking like this summer could be as bad as 2003. The recent weekend heatwave that we had has just aggrevated it even more.

[Ship Watcher]

AWESOME!! AWESOME!!

I was travelling on a BC Transit bus on Wakeshia Road around 1:50pm this afternoon and while at NDSS I was treated to the Awesome sight of the Phillipine Mars (White Tail) flying directly overhead. Needless to say there was no hesitation I got off at the next stop and whatched with a smile on my face this huge beast make about 4 passes. I took some pictures untill I ran out of film.

When I got to Country Clubb Mall I watched again as the Phillipine Mars made a drop over the fier. This realy made my day!

Hawaii Mars as seen on TV is fighting the Galiano Fire.

[Doug]

Wow. I wonder if that whole area where we were once walking is burned to a crisp?

[Koastal Karl]

Vessel Waits at Terminal for Fire Fighting Equipment to go to Galiano
Posted July 25, 2006

The Mayne Queen's 10:30 am scheduled departure from Swartz Bay to the Southern Gulf Islands is going be delayed approximately one hour.

The vessel is awaiting the arrival of emergency equipment at the terminal to be transported over to Galiano Island to help fight the fire.

BC Ferries regrets any inconvenience this delay may cause.


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[Balfour]

There's good reason for this delay, so hopefully people aren't complaining.

[Koastal Karl]

What is really funny is BC Ferries is listing the late departure of 1hr and 21 mins for the Mayne Queen as a mechanical difficulty with terminal equipment. lol!

[Political Incorrectness]

That is a bunch of BS, so BCF is lying eh? They held up to let emergency vehicles get aboard the Mayne Queen.

[kylefossett]

maybe just maybe after they had the crews loaded there WAS a problem with terminal equipment. this is a possibility

[Koastal Karl]

it is a possibility but I doubt that is what happened. If a ship is really late BC Ferries has to give a reason why it is late on the CC page, traffic delays, mechanical difficulties with vessel/terminal equipment, delayed due to medical emergency, ect.. what are they gonna put for holding up the ferry for fire crews and equipment to arrive??? What would they put for that??

[Retrovision]

qsandwich said:

Regarding the fires,

I'm not surprised by this at all. We haven't had any considerable rainfall since May, so it's looking like this summer could be as bad as 2003. The recent weekend heatwave that we had has just aggrevated it even more.

Lack of rainfall is negligible when it comes to reasons for forest fires erupting into firestorms in our province these days. Years of forest fire suppression would probably be closer to the top of the list of reasons why they've been more intense in recent years; yes, you read right, years of preventing forest fires has probably been far more of a hazard when it comes to the ferocity with which new fires start than letting fires in the past burn themselves out ever could have been.

This site gives a good explanation of what I'm talking about, specifically referring to the 2003 fires in our province's interior:
www.2003firestorm.gov.bc.ca/firestormreport/forman.htm

...Including this summary:

"While wildfires occur naturally as part of the normal growth cycle of a forest, they are also influenced by what people do. Forest management was an issue raised in all public meetings and by many of the stakeholders and experts who met with the Review Team.

Specifically, knowledgeable observers pointed to the buildup of fuel in British Columbia’s forests as one of the reasons for the severity of Firestorm 2003 and why they considered the risk of future fires to be increasing.

By fuel, professional foresters mean combustible material needed for a wildfire to burn, such as trees, brush and other vegetation. The Auditor General of British Columbia, in his 2001/2002 report on Managing Interface Fires, noted that past successes in fire suppression have led to a buildup of vegetation and forest density. This puts the forests at extreme risk of wildfires during hot, dry and windy weather, all of which occurred this past summer.

This past fire season also heightened our awareness about the detrimental impacts of long-term fire exclusion (human intervention to extinguish periodic naturally occurring fires). This results in changes in tree stand structure, a decline in forest health, productivity loss, and increased fire severity, as well as negative impacts on air and water quality. These issues have been long debated in the forest management professions and in British Columbia’s forest communities."

To better understand this summary, this might help:


"Background on Fuel Buildup

To better understand the expert commentary heard by the Review Team and the recommendations we are putting forth, it is useful to briefly explain key concepts of forest management related to fuel buildup.

A wildfire’s progress is determined by three components in the environment: weather, topography and fuels. Weather and topography are defined by nature. Fuel is the only component where human intervention has any impact. Since fuel availability influences the severity of a fire, it is a key element in understanding risk and potential damage.

For a wildfire, a buildup of vegetation is a buildup of fuel. The more fuel there is, the harder the fire is to put out. “Ladder fuels” are the most problematic. These include low branches, young trees and any other vegetation that allows the fire to climb like a ladder into the upper branches of the tree and become a “crown fire.” Crown fires are the most dangerous and difficult to control, as burning embers can be spread by the wind to start new fires beyond the main fire perimeter."

--===================================================--

For the few of you Hansard fans out there, I found this colourful exchange, while looking for specific forest-fire info, from the Legislature (1987) regarding fire fighters...

www.legis.gov.bc.ca//hansard/34th1st/34p_01s_870708p.htm#02275

...Including this interesting start to the discussion:

"MS. EDWARDS: My question is to the Minister of Forests. Yesterday during his ministry's estimates the minister stated that he felt that giving unemployment insurance to forest fire fighters would result in prospective workers going into the forest and deliberately setting fires. Is the minister willing to stand by those comments?

HON. MR. PARKER: The discussion yesterday on whether or not UIC benefits would be extended to emergency firefighters in the province was answered. One of our concerns is the possibility of further incendiary fires emanating from having those kinds of benefits extended, It's a concern that we have, and we shared it yesterday."

(also note the subject of Vancouver's raw-log market, and what's said, farther down the page)

[Ferryman]

Greetings from Ladysmith. Just checking in here before heading up to Campbell River in an hour or so.

I was fishing last night at Porlier Pass-Northern end of Galiano Island. I could easily see the Fire. It wasn't anything too spectacular from my point of view. Just a few puffs of smoke, with the odd helocopter dumping water on the fire.

On the topic of fires... There was quite the fire South of Nanaimo at the Duke Point Terminal turnoff. On Monday afternoon the BC Auto Wreckers burned to the ground. The fence, and most of the wrecked cars even went up in smoke. Quite an amazing sight now....

Lots of pics to show, once I get home.

[Retrovision]

From the Strait of Georgia aboard the SoBC's 7am departure from Tsawwassen terminal for Swartz Bay terminal on Thursday morning: