Jul 17, 2014
Enough already!!!
The title of the hit song by The Platters “Smoke Gets In Your Eyes” doesn’t even cover it. We were forced to leave the A/C on all night because the smoke smell was too strong. Then there was the power outage sometime during the night. Whatever the explosion was, it shut down all the gas stations in Lake Country. I was just a tad under 1/4 tank and we were taking both cars into Kelowna. Did I mention that our vehicles has a fine layer of ash over them?
Our plan was for a 5 hour day maximum, doing various errands, etc. Due to incompetence of certain companies it ended up being a 10 hour day. We had brought the girls with us and they did so well and never complained once. For them it was an adventure, going in and out of a few professional offices and stores and new sniffs to smell when we stopped to let them do their business. I’m sure that they are going to sleep for the next 12 hours. Things got pretty stressful at BMW this afternoon, where my car had been since 8:30AM. I paid a bill that got me nothing!! Enough said that we will be calling BMW Canada tomorrow.
Meanwhile not 1, not 2 but 4 new fires started today. One which we could see this afternoon, while in downtown Kelowna, it is horrific. It is a Rank 5, the worst possible. So far it has burned one home that we know of and suddenly over 1500 people are on immediate evacuation notice, no time to pack anything, just run for your lives. This fire is burning on the West Side of Kelowna. Colin says that the areas being evacuated are mostly new homes in the $500,000.00 to $800,000.00 price range. We have friends whose home burned two years ago and they have been put through the wringer to prove everything to the insurance company in order to recover any money. Who has copies of receipts of things purchased in your home, all the items? Copies that are stored outside of your home. They had less then 5 minutes to get out, they lost everything including their computer with all their information, both personal & business. They are still fighting to get what should be theirs. Guess what we are doing this weekend? That’s right, taking photos of all we own as well as the documentation.
So today, thus far, four new fires have started and the valley is once again filled with smoke. On the way back home from Kelowna to our oasis ( in the smoke ) we saw 2 accidents. Fairly bad!
I’m done. What a stressful day! Best part of the day was that I lost 2 lbs this week when I weighed in at Weight Watchers this morning.
It is certainly a mucho mas vino night! Might gain a few ounces.
I am concerned for fellow bloggers Rod & Sylvia who are right there. Sorry to Marty in Montana who is dealing with our smoke. As of 10 minutes ago….
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So far, everything is fine over here in Lakeview Heights. Our Daugher in law is visiting with her family right near Smith Creek, and her sister lives in Shannon Heights, and they’re getting a bit antsy. We’ll keep monitoring the situation, and thank you so much for the offer you made at our blog. If things get crazy over here we’ll give you a call. We’re in the process of figuring out what goes into the RV in a hurry if we need to get out of here.
PS: 175 Hectares is Huge! I wonder if they’ve got that number right.
Rod, I have just sent you 2 personal emails with suggestions. Yes 175 hectares and with it being a Rank 5 and the wind right now, better to be prepared. you have our #.
Those raging forest fires sure can be scary.
Good idea to back up all you information and store if off site.
We have important info scanned and stored on line, accessible from any computer with secure passwords.
Good Advice George. We’ve done the same in this past year, including several videos of our home and furnishings. It’s such an easy process these days with Cloud Storage options.
So sorry you are so close to the fires! In Washington State, they have lost 100 homes as of this morning. Still no fires here to speak of but they have advised people with breathing problems to stay indoors. Kinda funny how the air currents go, isn’t it?