Fire Observations

Fire Observations

This summer has been a season of flames in my corner of the world. In May a fire broke out north of us and although it was quickly brought under control, a few houses were lost. Early this month, a second fire started in the same location. This time extreme temperatures, lack of rain and high winds caused the fire to quickly rage out of control

Within days it was obvious we were experiencing a major disaster and thousands of people were evacuated from the towns and villages north of us. My neighbours and I watched in disbelief as the flames moved closer and closer to our community.

Although we never had to leave our homes, the fire came within four kilometers of our village, and we were placed on evacuation alert.

Natural disasters happen around the world every day. When they come close to your doorstep you see these events through a different lens.

My first reaction to the fire was an understanding of how insignificant we are as a species on this planet. We may think that humanity has tamed the world, but the appearance of a hurricane, earthquake or forest fire quickly teaches us how helpless we are. For all the technology and learning we have, people are at the mercy of the elements.

It is interesting to see how people react to disasters. There are those who remain calm in the direst of situations and those who panic at the earliest suggestion of discomfort. I encountered people who lost their houses who faced reality and stoically prepared for a challenging future without complaint. Others who never even had the fire enter their community reacted as if their lives had come to an end.

When I was younger, I spent a short time working as a cook on a forest fire in northern Ontario. My exposure to fire crews and the reality of serious fires near my home in the north gave me great respect for people who managed the response to fires and those who worked on the front lines.

Disasters like a forest fire are times for all of us to work together. Many people in my area did wonderful work volunteering to help where they could. Everyone from the fire fighters on the front lines to regular citizens offering up their time and money came together. But I also saw social media posts from people complaining about the response to the fires. There were complaints that not enough resources were applied to the fire and protests that water bombers had been moved from our fire to another blaze near the city of St. John’s.

Difficult decisions must be made in disaster response and sometimes those decisions will negatively impact some people. It is important to realize that the people deciding where and when water bombers and ground crews are deployed are experts who must make dispassionate decisions. People with no experience in firefighting and no broad understanding of the situation cannot be expected to understand every move of those making decisions.

I saw complaints that politicians were giving fire updates rather than real experts. I would rather have the real experts working at the fire instead of sitting in a television studio talking to the public. Many people are ready to complain about government no matter what they do. I’m not often one to stick up for politicians, but I felt that in our fire, our elected officials handled things well. When serious problems happen, none of us should have any concern which party the people organizing the response belong to.

Disasters like forest fires bring out the best in most people and the worst in a few. When big problems arise it’s important for all of us to be helpful in any way we can even if it’s just staying out of the way.