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Maui, Yellow Knife, Tenerife, and a scary out-of-control wildfire now burning Kelowna, BC. [1]
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Date: 2023-08-18
“The climate system is an angry beast,” the late Columbia climate scientist Wally Broecker was fond of saying, “and we are poking it with sticks.” Peter Brennan
The world is waking up to yet another wildfire calamity. An alarming situation in south-central British Columbia unfolds as wildfires break out in Kelowna, a rather large city in British Columbia’s wine country. The metropolitan area had a population of 223,000 in 2020, the city roughly 178,000, and people have either been ordered to evacuate or put on notice to evacuate at a moment's notice due to the now out-of-control McDougall Creek wildfire.
The region has been windy, and embers have ignited a second forest fire near the city. Some residents had to flee into Okanagan Lake as flames blocked any possible exit by car. Alerts have been sent to boaters to rescue those people. A state of Emergency was issued last night for West Kelowna and the Westbank First Nation. Strong winds are only intensifying the firestorm.
Pray for Kelowna. They are surrounded.
KelownaNow has received reports of people having to flee into Okanagan Lake, as the only exits were closed off to them by fire. Chris Neumann, a coordinator for BC emergency livestock management, told KelownaNow that he fielded a request for help after the fire closed the road leading into Trader’s Cover and Bear Creek. “At that point, the people that were left there were only left with the water as an exit route,” he said. Boats were being sought to get people out of the water and to safety
News is sparse as the harrowing situation rapidly unfolds, but this could not be good. We were warned of disasters such as these decades ago. They have arrived; no place is safe, not anymore.
x I just have no words. The McDougall wildfire burning 10km NW of West Kelowna is spreading fast. More evacuation orders have just been sent out. Trying to clarify numbers #BCWildfires
video: Shannon Smalley pic.twitter.com/hvrGX29tUu — Randi-Marie (@RandiMarie2023) August 18, 2023
WEST KELOWNA, B.C. — A fast-burning wildfire threatening West Kelowna, B.C., is challenging fire crews as they brace for what the operations director with BC Wildfire Service has predicted will be the most challenging days of the provincial wildfire season. Thousands of people have been placed on evacuation alert in the Okanagan city, while close to a thousand properties have been placed on evacuation order because of the McDougall Creek wildfire. The Central Okanagan Emergency Operation Centre issued a local state of emergency because of the fire, which is threatening suburbs, schools and businesses in the city. The fire threat forced the closure of Highway 97 in both directions for 14 kilometres between West Kelowna and Kelowna.
x EMERGENCY situation for West Kelowna #bcfire pic.twitter.com/FMYnVgIhXK — Kyle Brittain (@BadWeatherKyle) August 18, 2023
x CANADA WILDFIRES – West Kelowna declares a state of emergency with over 1,000 properties ordered evacuated as wildfire surges.
The City of West Kelowna and the Westbank First Nation has declared a local state of emergency, with about 5,500 properties on evacuation alert.… pic.twitter.com/YOOFLIjAtS — Jack Straw (@JackStr42679640) August 18, 2023
x BREAKING: Wildfire out of control near Kelowna in British Columbia, "many" homes reportedly destroyed pic.twitter.com/ihz5aPx0nO — BNO News (@BNONews) August 18, 2023
x Here’s a look at the McDougall Creek wildfire in West Kelowna from City Park. #bcwildfire pic.twitter.com/61bqmivT4s — Jules Knox (@Jules_Knox) August 18, 2023
x Thick wildfire smoke sweeps over British Columbia and the Pacific Northwest 🔥💨 pic.twitter.com/BqjhLOhRBC — Zoom Earth (@zoom_earth) August 17, 2023
x Hundreds of people in #Yellowknife are waiting hours in line hoping to be put on a flight to Calgary. But it’s at a standstill. @globalnews @GlobalNational @GlobalCalgary pic.twitter.com/YxFNc9lirk — Jayme Doll (@DollJayme) August 17, 2023
x Some scary scenes coming out of Tenerife in the Canary Islands, Spain as an out-of-control wildfire continues to grow. The fire is now exhibiting extreme fire behaviour due to very dry conditions. A mandatory evacuation is in effect for villages threatened by the wildfire. pic.twitter.com/WYvbdhKRLw — Debbie_banks (@Debbie_banks30) August 17, 2023
In the far north of Canada, 10's of thousands of people have been ordered to evacuate as wildfires impact native communities and the city of Yellow Knife. The road in and out is blocked. People are being flown to Calgary.
In the Canary Islands, wildfire is scorching the island with apocalyptic scenes of red skies and endless flames, an all too familiar sight in the Mediterranean during this hot and dry summer of extremes.
In Maui, cremains fall apart if touched. I would imagine the 1200 missing are likely never to be found. Lahaina is a graveyard, and its land and water are poisoned. See TexMex diary on how to help.
To be clear, there is no do-over with what we see with the climate; technology will not save us, and we can’t reverse any of it. It’s not that we have no tools to hold off the worst impacts; we just refuse to do it.
Voting is all I got because I have no idea how to make people care that people are dying horrible deaths in these fires and demand action be taken now. All anybody wants to do is talk about Trump for seven fucking years. It is just stunning to me. Perhaps we are already desensitized to calamity.
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[1] Url:
https://www.dailykos.com/stories/2023/8/18/2188019/-Maui-Yellow-Knife-Tenerife-and-a-scary-out-of-control-wildfire-now-burning-Kelowna-BC
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