Surrounded By Flames
Thanks, climate deniers!
As I write these words, Canada’s Northwest Territories has declared a state of emergency. A 163,000 hectare wildfire is burning out of control less than 16 km Northwest of me here in the capital city of Yellowknife, thirteen kilometres closer than it was just yesterday. A different fire is approaching from the Southeast, yet another from the Northeast, and a fourth is due North. Pretty much the only direction that isn’t on fire faces Yellowknife Bay and mighty Great Slave Lake, the tenth largest lake in the world and the deepest in North America. Breathing the smoke outside of my house is roughly the equivalent of smoking three packs of cigarettes a day at this point, tiny soot particles compromising lungs. The only highway out of town that connects us with the rest of the country pretty much runs straight through the biggest blaze. It’s not only the only surface escape route, but also the way groceries and other goods normally reach us. There’s a small airport, but I can’t imagine flying out a population of 20,000 people. If power or communications infrastructure gets hit, I may not be able to post this.
I find myself surprisingly calm. Within the city, my location is safer than most. My garden currently provides a daily harvest of fresh produce suitable for eating raw. If power goes out and the freezers start to thaw, we’ll feed neighbours…
