Oh dear, that's terrible and indeed scary!

Don't you dare try to get out of your garden tour girlfriend! ;)

Sharon

Oh no!! I hope it stays far far away from you and your property! Yes and quit trying to get out of the tour LOL.

Oh Scary!!! Hopefully everything will be O.K. and rain will come your way soon.

No sweat on the garden tour! I have had several tours of my yard and everyone really enjoyed it. They even overlooked a few weeds.

Cheers Al

Oh Marcia that is sooo scary! Hopefully they get it under control soon. Keep us up dated, because if we don't hear from you for a few days, we're going to be worried!

Yes, please post somewhere so we know you are alright.

I have never been close to a forest fire. How long would it take to go the 25 miles and could it get close to you...is there a lake or a river between you and the fire?

Brenda

I forgot my camera when i went down to the beach this evening, but the pall of smoke has doubled in size. So far there's no danger to us. Here's the blurb from the local radio station:

Major Fire Southwest of Vermilion Bay
Posted by Mike Ebbeling on Thursday, July 20th, 2006 am 6:51:08 AM
An out of control forest fire continues to pose problems for the Ministry of Natural Resources. High winds and dry conditions pushed the fire burning near Wahnage Lake, 20 kilometres southwest of Vermilion Bay to 425 hectares.
Last night, crews were able to push the blaze away from the only property in site, a trappers cabin. Fire crews were out early Thursday morning aggressively attacking the blaze.
The MNR has deemed the fire the top priority in Northwestern Ontario. Smoke will likely be prevelant in Vermilion Bay and Dryden and anyone effected can contact the Northwestern Health Unit. The fire started Wednesday afternoon and the cause is under investigation.

******************************************
If you look at the map in the link, the fire is somewhere south of that long arm on the left of the lake.

No sign of any evacuation, either. Oh well.... :>

Here is a link that might be useful: Map

Yes forest fires are scary and dangerous. I work for a wildland fire agency and we have heat and fire alerts u for this weekend. We are currently inthe 97 percentile for ignitions which means that 97% of hot embers from any exisiting fire will start another fire.

Keep drinking water, stay as cool as possible and just keep your most important items ready for a quick evacuation. Park your vehicle where it points towards the area you will leave in ( point towards end of driveway instead of towards residence) that way in a panic you have a easier shot at not running into anything when leaving.

The fire has grown to 1000 hectares (what the heck is a hectare, anyway??), and you can tell by the smoke in today's picture:
{{gwi:692879}}

We did have a good rain this afternoon, but probably not enough to help control the fire. I haven't been able to find a map that pinpoints the fire. It would be interesting to see how it grows and where it goes. So far nothing is threatened, and there isn't a lot of smoke around - the wind has kept it out over the lake, from the looks of it.

There are apparently over 150 fires burning in the Northwest and there's supposed to be one about 3 or 4 miles from our cabin. Yesterday, we watered everything really well, and then dh took our fire pump up to the lake, just in case. There have been three or four fires near there over the years, but so far we've been lucky.

A hectare is 2.47 acres. Still got all my fingers & toes crossed for ya Marcia! But it sounds like they're pretty liberal about evacuating people if necessary so I'm sure you will be safe.

Did I ever mention I buy granite from Vermilion Bay? It's pink. :0)

Thanks, Gil - so about 2500 acres. Not that i can envision that, even! Sounds huge.

We've had some rain since yesterday, but it wouldn't be enough to do anything about the fire. From what i understand about the location, it doesn't seem as if it could cross the lake anywhere and get to this side.

No, you never mentioned buying granite from here. What do you use it for? Do you just buy the rock or some finished product? They do benches, tables and other decorative stuff, from what i understand. Oh my - you aren't in the headstone business, are you?? LOL

Yup, I mentioned that way back in the introductions thread. I do make headstones. I guess everyone thought I was joking. LOL.

I also make benches, tables, garden rocks, sundial stands etc. - and no, I am most certainly not trying to promote my business, lettering boulders and garden rocks is thoroughly annoying!

Marcia, have you checked the maps on the government web site? Don't know if it shows the detail you're looking for.

A couple of years ago we parked on the side of the highway nears Crowsnest Pass in southern Alberta and watched fires burning. It was incredible to watch from a distance, you certainly got a sense of the power of nature. We watched the water bombers & helicopters targeting hot spots, amazing & frightening at the same time.

Stay safe.

Here is a link that might be useful: Forest fire map & info

I looked at the site, GC, but couldn't find what i wanted. Our fire doesn't seem to even exist according to the maps! I'd like an actual map of the area with the lakes named. It would be easier to show where it is, then. Thanks anyway, though! :)

What's the latest on the fire, Marcia?

Shauna

The rain we've had off and on has helped but the fire is still out of control. I don't think we're in any danger here, even if the wind changes. There are a lot of lakes that it would have to cross to get here, and that is not likely to happen. Yesterday morning it was really smokey here, but when i went down to the dock after supper, there was no smoke to be seen. Granted, it was pretty cloudy and the smoke might have been there against the clouds, but i couldn't see it.

This fire is called "Dryden 79" and is the worst burning in this part of Ontario.