So here we are, Aug 21, and have now been on evacuation order since July 29. The Elephant Hill Fire, as it is now being called, is parked on our back doorstep, about 2 east. To think that this fire began back on July 6 near Ashcroft, 100 kilometers away, is mind boggling. Now it's poised along the length of Green Lake, and threatening to go further. Just by (our) good fortune, the winds shifted to the east and turned the head of the fire away from us virtually at the last minute... although that spelled disaster for many other communities nearby. We've heard that over 50 homes were lost or damaged just a short way down the road from us, at Pressy Lake.
This fire covers almost 170,00 hectares, and as of yesterday was reported to be 25% contained, and still out of control. We are at the mercy of the wind now. The structural protection crews have placed SPU's around our houses (sprinkler protection units) and we wait to see what the weather brings. Nothing to do now but wait.....
Lucky us! Just when the fire seemed destined to hit us, the winds shifted dramatically to the east, and the blaze ran parallel to Green Lake. Missed us completely! But too dam close!
Note; Edited to add, the Evacuation Order finally was lifted about September 11 or 12, and everyone was allowed home again. I'm fuzzy on the actual date, because we had a planned trip to Europe, and we were away ... and when news reached us that the Order came off, we just wanted to get back home!
This map is from Aug 13th, and shows the direction of the fires at that time. Updated maps became hard to get, because a combination of the smoke (obscuring the satellites) and massive amounts of data being handled made the system bog down.
A different overlay shows where the hotspots were. Very close to us at Green Lake.