General Chat

...... smokers are the worst!

:-D

Pretty sure fire bans in Northern Ontario and most of Quebec as well. Shame not everyone listens.

Hi Caroline ...............

smoke only!

....... and that is coming from south of the river in Richmond where a "bonfire" in a wooded area has got into the peat. The firefighters found "tents" but no people ......... guess it had been a homeless camp.

Other smoke is coming from the BC Interior, northern California, Alaska and Asia :-0

Luckily there has been a weather change today and the air is much clearer, and it is also cooler :-D

We are under a total fire ban here in the city .......... no bonfires, no open charcoal bbqs, no fire pits etc etc There is already a city bylaw about smoking in parks and on the beaches. That came in a couple of years ago and covers tobacco and "weed".


I'm watching those fires in Ontario .............. we go past Sudbury and Parry Sound down Georgian Bay almost every year on the train. I guess it's going to look quite a bit different in December :-(



Thanks for thinking of me!

Hope the current BC fires aren't affecting you at all Sylvia?

it really looks as if some posts have been deleted ....... am I right or am I wrong? :-D :-D


We owned 20 acres in a semi-remote area of BC .............. that meaning we had no neighbours for about 10 miles, and we were surrounded by hundred of miles of Crown land which had scattered houses and farms in there but was mainly treed.

Even so, we were governed by regulations including ..................

We could build one residence on our land, as long as the local government inspector was assured (by tests being done) that there was a suitable septic field, with all the required rates of seepage, etc etc. That field had to be within a certain distance of the residence, and preferable down slope. That actually limited possible building areas to about 3 sites.

The roof of the building had to be an approved low fire material ............... most buildings in the area (as well as other country areas) have metal roofs, treated with a fire-retardant coating.

We had to ensure a 30' area all around the residence that was cleared of trees, and shrubs, and where grass and other herbs were regularly cut down.

We could build "farm buildings" as long as we obeyed similar rules, and they also could not be occupied.


More interesting perhaps, is that all municipalities in BC, large or small, now have to ensure that there is a cleared area at the interface between houses and unoccupied land. People are expected to ensure their own property is kept clear of dead trees and shrubs, grass etc, but it is the municipalities' responsibility to clear the interface areas, with trees cut down to provide the required separation.

This was really brought home by the horrible fire at Fort McMurray, Alberta, in 2016, and in the interior of BC last year.

Very sad as the people that died probably weren't the law breakers.

So it was as the Greek man said in my extract - lack of planning and illegal houses.
So sad :-(

https://www.bbc.com/news/world-europe-45030082



These are the failures that have been highlighted so far.

Why would someone delete their post?

Surely no-one actually writes a load of tripe, expecting the 'great uneducated and unwashed' to take it in without question?

I may as well pull it now he has made it look ridiculous.

Oh look someone edited out their comments again, rather confuses some of our comments!!

Same here, Caroline. Most blocks in rural subdivisions which contain trees have what are known as 'Building Envelopes' which are designated areas where all buildings must be erected.

These areas can be changed but only after a full site inspection and a strong enough reason approved by Council. No tress outside the Building Envelope can be removed.

" and some damage in the drought of 1975.".........there were droughts in both 75 and 76???

" There is not, never has been and never will be a legal presumption against building due to trees!".........beg to differ.....trees are a major factor here when building...they at best restrict what you can build or where, and at worse stop your building totally.

Good point, Allan.
Quite a bit of the sea area in Greece where the fire was had been cordoned off with barbed wire.

Partial quote from an earlier post of Maggies ".......or to establish and maintain emergency escape routes for residents" from a Greek person.

Spot on, and a problem for many older rural subdivisions in Western Australia.

The Margaret River Bush Fires several years ago, played out like a Greek Tragedy, no pun intended.

The fires started when a 'controlled' burn carried out by Government Authorities to reduce fuel loads got out of control in an area of dense bush. This tore through a subdivision which only had one access road, which is where the fire was at its fiercest.

The residents couldn't be evacuated as there was only the one access.

Fortunately, the residents were able to escape to the local beach but it was touch and go for a while, and whilst properties were lost, there was no loss of life

That in a subdivision which had gone through all the legal Planning process

Of course! :-D :-D :-D

And,of course, I should have been in awe of you superior knowledge!

Moi? Of course! :-D :-D :-D

I could have copied and pasted half an essay!

Have you been looking at Google?

and don't pine trees grow everywhere?

edit: though it's mainly sourced from the US and China.