Update August 2024: I am safe at home with the pets. My house survived but tragically a neighbor lost theirs. Thank you for your support and care during this hard time.
So much can be said about the fury of wildfires. The smell of trees burning, the thick smoke which chokes you as you leave your house. The upset animals who are picking up on something terrible which is looming ever so dangerously close!
And then the evacuation order hits.
Time to gather everyone into the car, take what you can. What is important, what can burn? How do we measure what’s cherished and what isn’t? And how do you decide so quickly, when fires threaten to take everything?
Fortunately, here in Canada, we have many amazing volunteers who help keep us organized, help us find accommodations, and make us smile with their cheerful spirits. Thank goodness for the hundreds of firefighters, some from the other side of the world, all here to help save my home, forests, and community.
As of writing this, I have no idea how long I’ll be evacuated, and what I’ll do next. But I do know this. Everything will be okay. I’m safe, my animals are safe, and that’s all that really matters.