Firestorm

The province of BC usually has approximately 1800 wildfires each year. This number has increased in the last two years. The annual budget for dealing with wildfires has already been exceeded in 2018. According to the BC Wildfire Service, there have been over 1 million hectares of land burned across the province since the beginning of April, which is an increase of about 40,000 hectares from last year's wildfire count. Prior to this, the worst wildfire year was 1958 and was well below 900,000 hectares of land burned.

But like everything in life, death is not the end. Out of the ashes sprout green fingers of life that will start a new forest. The nitrogen that has been released by the fire will leach once more into the soil, preparing the fertile ground for the new forests of tomorrow. As with most things, as a photographer I can find beauty in the strangest places. Two of the three photos below were taken in Comox just as the sun was hitting the layer of smoke that was so dense this August. The last one was taken a few nights ago; the smoke still hangs in our valley, making for some very interesting sunrises and sunsets.

Creamsicle Sky

Crimson Ribbons, above, and Caught in Amber, below.