Thursday July 2nd, 2015………it’s around 4-4:30 and Fran and I are the only ones left at the shop…..we have heard lots of sirens from our local firehall and, as any small town dweller will admit to, we were wondering where the boys are going in such a rush. You pray it’s nobody you know and pray for whomever it is. It didn’t take long for us to see the plume of smoke……and didn’t take much for us to realize it wasn’t small……our prayers shifted to our town as a whole.
Now I have Pictures……lots actually……and for the most part I haven’t published most of them. I have been trying to piece together “Why?”…….I had to get the shots, I went out everyday of the fire to get a visual of what progress was being made. I marvelled in how fantastic this little town is and how proud I am to be part of the collective……but yet the photographs sit on my card…..unedited, unseen. Why?……
I couldn’t catch the reality. The truth could not be translated in one solid shot. How do you depict Fear, crazy panic, death, nurturing, humbleness, support, acceptance, love and loss in ONE single photo? You can’t.
There are to many parties that this effected, in and out of community.
Death makes angels of us all and gives us wings where we had shoulders round as ravens claws.
~Jim Morrison
The collective changed…..solidified if you will……as the news of John Phare passing reached people. It wasn’t just “news” it was reality snapping everyone back ….and if that wasn’t enough, Mother Nature reminded us by sitting breathless long enough for us to choke on the bi product of our own doing…..
As I sat in the smoke fog with all of the lower mainland, with fires burning up our back yard and family and friends mourning a Solid Sunshine Coast man…I wondered how many around me were awaken to the fact that this is daily living for others?
We are spoiled here on the coast…..our rain forests are not typically this active. For those North of us, that is not the case. They pray for smoke to clear to see sun…..for weeks, MONTHS sometimes….not days.
Yet I heard so many people complaining and bitching. All I could think was “Hello, I’m standing right here beside you. It effects all of us, not JUST you”
But then again maybe the fire would never have started in the first place if “it effects ALL of us, not JUST you” was applied to begin with…….
Will I ever do anything with the pictures I have taken? I don’t know, I think the lessons I have learned through this experience just can’t be formed in This format……..you have to SEE the bigger picture…..you can’t SHOW it…….
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Thanks for the inspiring words Michelle, they truly come from the heart that is obvious. And thanks for this image. It’s the first time I’ve seen what a visual impact the fire had on the community. I and every available member of the Sechelt fire department were at the base of that smoke plume trying our best. However the fire was beyond our control long before we arrived. By the time we could get off the mountain it was pitch black
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Chief…..the level of Pride I have for every member of S.V.F.D. For doing their part that day is immense!! As it still was through EVERY call the hall received everyday after…….very few know the level of professionalism that has been trained into each and every member. I am blessed to be someone who has seen this first hand. I know with every fibre of my being how S.V.F.D. Went above and beyond, fully trained!
My prayers are with each member EVERYTIME the pager sounds and the trucks roll…..right until the bay doors close with last truck parked.
Thank YOU for your compassion and strength as a Solid Leader.
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