Ash Tuesday?

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Day 19.

When I stepped outside this morning everything was covered in ash and it continues to fall this evening. I assume it’s from the big fire near Kamloops but Osoyoos is on fire as well. The government has declared a state of emergency for the area and as of this morning 1100 hectares (2700 acres) were burning out of control.

Today I decided I would not ride but go to the gym in Sicamous and do some grocery shopping. I tried calling the gym yesterday afternoon but just got voicemail. I tried again this morning and got the same so I went on their website and it showed day passes were available so I gathered my gear and headed to town. When I got to the gym the door was locked with a key pad and a notice on the door saying members had to have an appointment booked. My gym at home was doing the booking thing too because of limited capacity. Obviously that was a non starter so I went to the grocery store around the corner.

When I pulled out of the campground a fire truck went by with lights flashing and when I got to town I could see smoke not far away. It didn’t appear to be on a hillside so I didn’t initially assume it was a forest fire. Well it turns out a van crashed into the ditch hitting a hydro pole which caused a spark and a fire. As of my writing it’s now at 60 hectares (150 acres) and classified as out of control. About 1000 local residents have been evacuated so far. I’m about eight Kilometres or five miles from there. It is and has been quite calm for several days so hopefully the fire fighters can get it under control before it expands too much more. I read they have water bombers involved.

The rest of the day I just hung out at the campground soaking up some sun and chatting with the folks I met from Ontario yesterday so the only picture I have is of the ash on my bike this morning.

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