Look up! The rarest Full Moon of 2021 shines in the sky this week

Scott Sutherland
Meteorologist/Science Writer

Thursday, August 19th 2021 - 

Eyes to the sky Sunday night! We won't see another "Blue Corn Moon" until 2024!

The upcoming Full Moon this weekend will be a special one to see. It is the first summer Blue Moon we've seen in five years, and there won't be another until 2024.

Take a few moments on Sunday night to pause and look up into the night sky. Venus will be there, near the western horizon, early in the night. Jupiter and Saturn are up nearly from dusk 'til dawn these days. Plus, the bright Full Moon which rises that night will be a special Blue Moon — the third Full Moon in a season with four Full Moons.

The Blue Moon hangs in the sky near Jupiter and Saturn on the night of August 22. Credit: Stellarium/Scott Sutherland

Now, there are two types of 'Blue Moon' that we hear about. The kind that typically sticks in peoples' minds (probably because it's harder to miss) is when there are two Full Moons in a single calendar month. We saw this last in the Fall of 2020 when we had the Halloween 'Micro' Blue Moon. This particular definition is based on a misinterpretation, though.

Back in 1946, the March issue of Sky and Telescope featured an article by James Hugh Pruett, titled "Once in a Blue Moon." In that article, Pruett wrote about the instance where there are 13 Full Moons in a calendar year, with the timing just right for two of them to occur within the same calendar month. He mistakenly thought that was the Blue Moon. Since they occur slightly more often than seasonal Blue Moons, this has become a somewhat more popular definition.

However, the traditional definition of a Blue Moon is "the third Full Moon in a season with four Full Moons."

This visualization of the Moon, produced from images taken by NASA's Lunar Reconnaissance Orbiter, shows the August 22 Blue Moon. Credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

Usually, any particular season of the year will have three Full Moons. However, every three years or so, simply based on when the Full Moons appear, we'll have a season with FOUR Full Moons.

This happens when the season's first Full Moon occurs with a few days of when the season begins. Then, because the time between Full Moons is only 29.5 days, the following three will occur earlier and earlier in their respective month. The fourth one will, therefore, occur just before the end of the season.

For Summer 2021, the season starts on June 20 and ends on September 22. The Full Moons are on June 24, July 24, August 22 and September 20. So, four Full Moons, and the third one — on August 22 — is a Blue Moon.

The four Full Moons of 2021. Credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio/Scott Sutherland

The last time we saw a seasonal Blue Moon was on May 18, 2019. However, the last summer Blue Moon occurred over 5 years ago, on August 18, 2016.

The next Blue Moons will be on August 30-31, 2023 (the second Full Moon of that month) and on August 19, 2024 (the third Full Moon of that summer).

IS A BLUE MOON ACTUALLY BLUE?

The Moon doesn't actually appear blue on the night of a Blue Moon. It is just a saying that means "seldom" or "rare" since we don't often see the Moon look blue.

Most often, when we see the Moon change colour, it's either orange or red. This can be due to a lunar eclipse when a Full Moon passes through Earth's umbra - the darkest part of the planet's shadow. The umbra is tinged red because when sunlight passes through the atmosphere, the air molecules and the various dust, particles, and water droplets, scatter the shorter wavelengths of the light first. So, only the reds emerge out into space on the other side.

Watching a lunar eclipse from the surface of the Moon, the Earth would appear ringed in red as sunlight filters through the atmosphere. Credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio

We can also see this kind of colour change when smoke and ash particles are in the air. In this case, the shorter wavelengths of the moonlight are quickly scattered, letting only the longer orange and red wavelengths pass unchanged.

Every once in a while, though, we can see the Moon actually look blue. It doesn't necessarily have to be full for this to happen.

According to NASA, "The key to a blue Moon is having in the air lots of particles slightly wider than the wavelength of red light (0.7 micron) — and no other sizes present. This is rare, but volcanoes sometimes spit out such clouds, as do forest fires."

As it happens, if there are a lot of ultrafine ash particles in the air, the red wavelengths of light will be scattered first. Thus, since only the shorter wavelengths pass through unimpeded, it gives the Moon a blue tinge. There were reports of the Moon appearing blue for years following the 1883 Krakatoa eruption. They were also seen after Mount St. Helens erupted in 1980, following the 1983 El Chichon eruption, and after the Mount Pinatubo eruption in 1991.

BLUE 'CORN' MOON?

According to the Farmers' Almanac (whichever one you favour), the August Full Moon is typically known as the Full Sturgeon Moon.

"The sturgeon of the Great Lakes and Lake Champlain were said to be most readily caught during this Full Moon," says The Old Farmer's Almanac.

This graphic collects all the relevant data about each Full Moon of 2021, including their popular names, whether they are a 'super' or 'micro' Moon, a perigee or apogee Full Moon, and whether they are remarkable in some other way (Blue Moon or Harvest Moon). Credit: NASA's Scientific Visualization Studio/Scott Sutherland

The Farmer's Almanac, attributes Sturgeon Moon to the Algonquin peoples of the Great Lakes and what is now the U.S. Northeast. However, to the Algonquin and other First Nations peoples, 'Corn Moon' may have been the more popular name.

'Corn Moon' is the popular name given to the September Full Moon. If we go with Algonquin Moon lore in this case, though, this could be the "Blue Corn Moon" referred to in the popular Disney song, Colors of the Wind. Apparently, when he wrote the song, lyricist Stephen Schwartz simply liked the way the phrase sounded. As it turns out, he may have been closer to reality than he realized.

THE MADDENING MOON ILLUSION

Seeing the Full Moon at any time of night is a spectacular sight. However, go out just after moonrise or just before moonset for what is usually an exceptional treat. It's not something the Moon itself is doing, though. Instead, it's due to a bit of trick of our mind known as The Moon Illusion.

There are times when the Moon actually does look bigger to us, such as during a supermoon, when the Moon is physically thousands of kilometres closer to Earth than usual. There are other times, however, when we just think it looks larger.

As our eyes take in the world around us, our brain knows from experience that objects close to us tend to appear larger and in focus. In contrast, distant objects tend to be tiny and blurry. From this, it also knows that for a distant object to appear in focus, it must be very large.

This close-up of the Harvest Moon was snapped in Calgary, AB, on September 13, 2019. Credit: Siv Heang

So, when we see a bright Full Moon hanging crisp and clear in the sky above the horizon, it is contrasted by all of the objects on the ground, which appear smaller and blurrier the closer they are to the horizon. This combination confuses the brain. So, to compensate, the brain interprets the Full Moon as being much bigger than it truly is. To be clear, the Moon is certainly much larger than any of the objects on the horizon (it's 3,474 km across), but this 'illusion' gives us the impression that the Moon looks enormous!

Look up into the sky closer to the middle of the night, and the Moon will be high above our heads. Usually, it will be the only thing we see, other than the stars and maybe a few planets. At that time, the brain is focused only on the Moon, and without the other objects in the field of view to complicate matters, it is free to just 'see' its actual size.

This zoomed-in image of the Full Snow Moon was captured from Salisbury, NB, on February 9, 2020, and uploaded into the Weather Network's UGC gallery. Credit: Darlene MacLeod/Smith

We have a few tricks of our own that can cancel out the Moon illusion, though.

For the first one, we don't need technology. Just go outside after sunset and find the Moon near the horizon. Stretch your arm out towards it, and cover the Moon over with your thumb or even your pinky finger. Note how big the Moon looks compared to the digit in question, and keep that in mind. Maybe even take a picture of it, if you want. Later in the night, check out the Moon again when it is high in the sky. It may appear smaller than when you saw it earlier, but repeat the step to cover it over with your thumb or finger. Compare it with what you saw before, and you'll find that the Moon is actually precisely the same size at both times.

There is a way technology can help us, though. When the Moon is low on the horizon, take out your cellphone, turn your camera on, and point it at the Moon. Note: it is possible for the Moon illusion to still work on us when looking at a picture or video. This is because the brain will make the same judgments of distance, blurriness, and size it did when looking at a 'live' scene. Still, directly comparing what we see in the sky at that time to what is shown on our small cellphone screen can help put things into better perspective. Plus, you can also take a few pictures to upload into the Weather Network UGC Gallery while you're at it!

Climate change: Does Germany produce double the UK's carbon emissions?

By Nicholas Barrett
BBC News

Chimneys at a coal-fired power station in Germany

The publication of a major report into climate change - warning of catastrophic consequences if the world does not act to limit global warming - has led to a renewed debate about what individual countries are doing.

British Conservative MP John Redwood said the COP26 climate conference in Glasgow in November would not produce the desired results, unless other nations including China and the US did more to cut their carbon emissions.

And he had this to say about Germany on BBC Radio 4's Today programme: "It's only going to work if Germany, which puts out twice as much as we do, starts to take the issue seriously and closes down its coal power stations."

So, is he right?

What do the figures show?

The Global Carbon Atlas (GCA) publishes emissions data from around the world. It says in 2018, the UK emitted 380 million tons of carbon dioxide equivalent (MtCO₂) from the burning of fossil fuels.

In the same year, Germany emitted 755 MtCO₂, about twice as much as the UK, and about 2% of the global total of 36,441 MtCO₂.

So the figures for 2018 support Mr Redwood's claim, but some context is needed when making this direct comparison.

Key differences

For a start, Germany is bigger than the UK. It's home to 83 million people, 17 million more than the UK.

It makes more things than the UK. Germany is a net exporter - meaning it exports more goods than it imports from other countries - whereas the UK is a net importer - meaning it imports more goods than it exports.

Speaking to the BBC, German Environment Minister Svenja Schulze said: "Germany is a strong industrial nation. We produce and export large numbers of goods that involve energy-intensive manufacturing processes. This makes the transition to a climate-neutral economy even more of a challenge."

Manufacturing accounts for twice as much of the economy in Germany as it does in the UK, according to the World Bank (23% of German national GDP, compared with just 11% in the UK).

"Germany has a larger population than the UK, so it's not too surprising total energy consumption and emissions are higher, because they have more residential and commercial buildings, and more cars on the road," says Dr Mike O'Sullivan, a mathematician and climate researcher at the University of Exeter, who collects data for the GCA.

There's also the question of which emissions you are measuring.

Territorial v consumption emissions

Climate scientists have two ways of measuring a country's carbon footprint:

Territorial emissions - this is how much CO2 is emitted within a country's borders. It takes no account of emissions generated elsewhere by the manufacture of imported goods.
Consumption emissions - this factors in emissions that come from the goods used or consumed in a country, including emissions from their production and delivery from abroad.

So, every time a car is manufactured in Germany and sold to a driver in Britain, the UK's consumption emissions increase, but its territorial emissions stay the same. The emissions from the factory that makes the car would count towards Germany's territorial emissions.

But once the car starts its engines in Britain, its emissions also count towards the UK's territorial emissions.

A total of 950,000 German-made cars were registered in the UK in 2016, according to the consultancy firm Deloitte.




By measuring consumption emissions, experts can better understand how responsible a country is for emissions produced abroad (for example, by another country making the goods which it is importing).

On this measure, the gap between the UK and Germany appears smaller.

We asked Dr O'Sullivan to calculate the difference.

"If we account for population size and traded goods, the UK's emissions in 2018 were eight tonnes of CO2 per person, compared with 10 tonnes of CO2 per person for Germany, so 20% lower, not 50%."




Some have criticised the UK - and other countries - for focusing on territorial emissions. These are the basis for the UK's net-zero target and also what countries are required to submit to the United Nations.

Climate activist Greta Thunberg has accused the government of "creative carbon accounting".

Is Greta Thunberg right about UK climate claims?

Do governments meet their green targets?

"They're falling short by not considering the full scope of how to reduce emissions both inside and outside the UK," argues John Barrett, a professor in energy and climate policy at the University of Leeds.

"We need to consider how we could reduce the impact of what we consume, irrespective of whether it was made in the UK or not."

BBC Reality Check explains how to cut your carbon footprint


When asked about the focus on territorial emissions, a government spokesperson told us: "Our emissions have fallen by 44% since 1990, the fastest of any country in the G7 [group of the biggest economies]".

What about coal?

The UK has moved significantly faster to reduce its dependency on coal than Germany.

According to the Fraunhofer Research Institute, Germany generated 24.1% of its power from coal last year, while the UK was down to just 3.1%, data from the National Grid shows.

Germany is currently planning to phase out the use of coal for the production of electricity by 2038, while the British government has promised to close the UK's last coal power station before October 2024.

"Unlike the UK, Germany was heavily reliant on coal for far too long and started phasing out coal too late. Our goal is a sustainable, reliable and climate-friendly energy supply" says Ms Schulze.

In 2019, the UK passed a law requiring the government to bring territorial emissions down to net-zero emissions by 2050. Germany has

 

HEALTH

Nearly 95,000 COVID-19 cases reported among health-care workers in Canada

By Saba Aziz  Global News

Posted August 18, 2021 10:01 pm

 Updated August 19, 2021 

WATCH ABOVE: Numbers released by the Canadian Institute for Health Information reveal 

nearly 95,000 COVID-19 cases have been reported in Canadian health-care workers since

 the start of the pandemic. Kim Smith has a closer look at Alberta's numbers.

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The COVID-19 pandemic continues to take a toll on Canada’s health-care workers, with nearly 95,000 cases and 43 deaths reported since the start of the pandemic.

The latest figures, as of June 15, 2021, were released by the Canadian Institute for Health Information (CIHI) on Thursday.

READ MORE: Internationally trained health-care professionals unable to help in COVID-19 fight. Here’s why

Data collected by CIHI showed a 43 per cent jump in case

care staff across the country since January. But the share of cases out of Canada’s total tally among the general population has continued to decline — reaching roughly seven per cent — amid greater vaccination coverage, CIHI reported.

“It’s been a significant impact on health-care workers who provide care to Canadians and we’re seeing that in a number of aspects, including the total COVID-19 cases and deaths that have been experienced,” said Lynn McNeely, manager of health workforce information at CIHI.

Beside the physical impact, McNeely said the pandemic has also presented mental health challenges for health-care workers grappling with long hours and COVID-19 fatigue.

“There’s no doubt health-care workers have been working tirelessly for the past year and a half under some really challenging conditions,” she told Global News.

View image in full screen

Graphic by James Hawkins/Global News

Personal support workers (PSWs) were at the greatest risk of contracting the disease compared with physicians and nurses, data from Ontario, Manitoba and British Columbia showed.

Because PSWs tend to work on a part-time basis at multiple facilities, that puts them at an increased risk of exposure, McNeely said.

Of all the provinces, Quebec was the hardest hit, reporting 45,320 cases and 13 deaths among the health-care workers. Ontario, Canada’s most populous province, came in second place with 23,557 infections and 17 deaths.

With the country in the midst of a fourth wave of COVID-19 fuelled by the highly transmissible Delta variant, there is a greater push to make vaccinations mandatory for health-care workers.

READ MORE: Should COVID-19 vaccines be mandatory for healthcare workers? Experts weigh in

In Quebec, health-care workers will be required to be fully vaccinated against COVID-19 by Oct. 1, Premier Francois Legault said Tuesday.

The Ontario government will also be requiring hospitals and home and community care service providers in the province to enact COVID-19 vaccine policies by Sept. 7. Individuals will need to provide proof of full COVID-19 vaccination, a medical reason for not having COVID-19 vaccines, or they will need to complete a COVID-19 vaccine educational session, the province said in a statement.

Meanwhile, on Aug. 12, British Columbia became the first province to order people working in long-term care and assisted living to get fully vaccinated as a condition of employment.

2:01Quebec health care workers voice concerns with mandatory vaccines

Quebec health care workers voice concerns with mandatory vaccines

Staffing concerns

While the COVID-19 pandemic saw an increase in the overall supply of selected health-care professionals last year, staffing shortages remain a major concern for provinces — prompting hospitals to postpone surgeries, close emergency beds and offer incentives.

Nurse practitioners made the biggest gains with a roughly eight per cent increase followed by physiotherapists and licensed practical nurses, the CIHI report showed.

READ MORE: Facing COVID-19 staffing crunch, some Ontario hospitals offer cash bonuses to new nurses

Nearly 6,000 nurses, occupational therapists, physiotherapists and pharmacists re-entered the workforce to provide COVID-19 support across the country.

“Canada’s supply of health-care workers increased as a result of workers who returned to help respond to the pandemic, as well as new entrants to the professions,” CIHI said in its report.

“Despite the increase in supply and the ability to call on those not working in profession-specific roles, health-care worker infections and exposure to the virus contributed to shortages.”

2:01Alberta Health Services updates staffing shortages after surgeries cancelled

Alberta Health Services updates staffing shortages after surgeries cancelled

With increasing pressure on the country’s health-care system and backlog created by the pandemic, McNeely stressed the need to provide mental health support to the staff.

According to a Statistics Canada survey released in February 2021, 77 per cent of health-care workers who worked in direct contact with confirmed or suspected cases of COVID-19 reported worsening mental health compared with before the pandemic.

It’s an area that will need attention in the months and years ahead, said McNeely.

“We’re going to have to continue to monitor and closely watch that burnout, as well as staff shortages among those who have been dealing with — not only through work, but through their own personal lives — the impact of the pandemic.”

Column: Hoping for the best isn’t enough for our future

Salmon Arm took on a orange-yellow-brown hue due to the smoke and ash in the air from nearby wildfires on Sunday, Aug. 15, 2021. (Lachlan Labere-Salmon Arm Observer)

In Plain View by Lachlan Labere

• LACHLAN LABERE   
• Aug. 19, 2021   
• COLUMNISTS

Hope for the best, prepare for the worst.

I’m hearing this a lot as we try to get through one of the hottest, driest, smoke-filled wildfire seasons (aka summer) in recent memory.

Amid this, we’ve learned we’re being thrown into another federal election.

Prime Minister Justin Trudeau says he’s seeking a new mandate from Canadians.

Whoever is elected to lead the country, let’s hope they give more weight to preparing for the worst.

As I write this column, the wildfire smoke-filled sky has turned a discomforting orange-yellow-brown hue. It’s 30 C and the outside air quality index (AQI) rating is 203. Good air quality has an AQI rating from 0 to 50.

I expect, for many, concern around air quality is secondary to the cause: the 270 wildfires burning in the province (as of Aug. 15). A priority for the BC Wildfire Service (BCWS) was the 62,273-hectare White Rock Lake wildfire.

Mark Healey, the BCWS incident commander for the White Rock Lake fire, recently said this has been the most volatile season he’s ever seen, calling it not a wildfire season, but a catastrophic event.

Let that set in. He’s not talking about one specific incident, one particular fire. He’s talking about the summer as a whole, no doubt starting with the “heat dome” in late June that shattered temperature records and was linked to the death of more than 700 people in B.C. Other wildfire related tragedies have occurred since, including the losses at Lytton and destruction at Monte Lake.

Wildfires are currently ravaging other parts of the country and the world. The fire situation in Greece has been referred to as a “natural disaster of unprecedented proportion.” In total, wildfires burning in Siberia are said to be greater in size than all the other wildfires currently burning on the earth combined.

Though wildfires have occurred historically, this year’s in particular are said to have been exacerbated by human-caused global warming. In a recent report, the United Nation’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) paints a bleak picture, warning extreme weather will be more frequent. In addition to taking immediate action to limit greenhouse gas emissions, the IPCC said we also need to invest in climate adaptation. You know, prepare for the worst.

I don’t expect going to the polls ranks high right now among British Columbians. But it is an opportunity to make sure politicians know what needs to be done. Taking action as recommended by the IPCC likely won’t stop wildfires from happening in coming years, but it’s better to do something with hope for the future, than do nothing and hope for the best.

Loggers free to fight fires

 

Photo: Jordan Neufeld

The White Rock Lake fire

The B.C. forestry sector has been fighting wildfires since early July, according to both industry and the BC Wildfire Service, despite what a leaked document circulating online suggests.

The provincial government is responding to leaked meeting minutes, detailing a call on July 12 between BCWS and several forestry companies that suggests B.C. was in desperate need of resources to fight fires at the time.

“Need every available resource. All BCWS people are working,” said the minutes, which first surfaced in an independent documentary on those who disobeyed evacuation orders in Paxton Valley to fight the White Rock Lake fire.

“Will rent fire equipment from industry if you are not using it,” the minutes continue. “Very limited air support available.”

At the meeting, BCWS discussed with forestry companies that there were no additional resources available in neighbouring jurisdictions due to severe fire seasons elsewhere, so industry help was needed.

What isn’t mentioned in the meeting minutes — which have sparked outrage among those who allege bureaucracy is strangling the wildfire service — is forestry companies had already been actively fighting fires for at least a week at that time.

BCWS director of fire centre operations Rob Schweitzer told Castanet Thursday the meeting was a routine one held every few months between the province and forest industry. He says he told industry at the meeting that provincial resources would be focused on protecting communities and infrastructure, and B.C. could use help fighting backcountry blazes impacting timber.

Schweitzer said forestry companies had been fighting fires since the “beginning of July.” That is corroborated by Tolko, which told Castanet News Wednesday night they have been actively fighting fires since July 5.

“I'm happy to say this group of either major licensees or independent contractors across the province have literally stopped their operations for the last six, seven weeks, and have come to support the wildfire effort both in the backcountry, as well as in and around the communities that they live and work,” Schweitzer said, adding some companies have lost equipment on the fire lines.

Since the Chapman review of the 2017 fire season, Schweitzer says BCWS has relied heavily on forestry companies to fight fires, particularly in the early stages of a wildfire when industry will attempt to hold the blaze prior to provincial resources arriving.

Schweitzer said logging companies manage those fires under “limited supervision,” which means “having our staff coming out there from time to time, just helping provide the objectives, making sure everything is being done safely.”

Schweitzer also pushed aside suggestions that the meeting minutes from July 12, which were generated by a forestry group, meant outside resources should have been requested sooner. The request for federal assistance went out on July 5, he said, and discussions were underway internally for a provincial state of emergency that would eventually be declared on July 20.

“What we felt leading up to the decision by government to actually declare [the state of emergency] was we were getting access to all available resources. The state of emergency wasn't going to give us any necessarily increase or benefit because of the partnerships that we had already formed with the forest industry, with fire departments and local governments across the province and with the federal government in getting that military assistance. So we were satisfied that we were seeing those resources coming, the resources that were available,” Schweitzer said.

Forestry companies free to fight fires

The White Rock Lake wildfire was discovered on July 13, the day after the meeting between Schweitzer and the forest industry. There have been allegations that BCWS told forest crews and ranchers to stand down and not fight the fire at its outbreak. Schweitzer says that is simply not true, and nobody was ever told to stand down.

“And in fact, as we've seen throughout this season, myself personally has worked with the cattlemen to actually lean on and utilize the ranching community for their local knowledge, their local equipment to actually assist us in some of the wildfires, the same thing with the forest industry,” he said.

BCWS has previously said their initial attack team was on site 30 minutes after the fire was started.

Schweitzer explained that forestry companies do not need to get approval from the provincial government to fight a new wildfire start, and in fact, they are legally required to attempt to suppress any new starts within one kilometre of their logging operations.

Tolko told Castanet this week their crews have been involved in fighting the White Rock Lake, Sugar, Morgan, Mabel, McKinley, Big Stick, Deka and Canim fires.

“Along with coordinating activities for contractors and providing services like danger tree assessments, Woodlands staff have provided equipment like dozers, excavators, bunchers, and skidders,” Tolko said in a statement.

In a separate statement, the BC Council of Forest Industries said its members have been working closely with the government to suppress fires.

Schweitzer, meanwhile, is asking residents in fire ravaged regions to look out for each other.

"There has been a lot of impact, the fire season’s not over, and really we do want to see that level of empathy across the province for one another and our crews that are doing their best on the fire line.”

WILDFIRE MEMO
‘This memo is damning’: Kamloops MLA outraged over lack of firefighting resources


The Newcomb brothers stayed behind and have been putting out 

hot spots around the White Rock Lake wildfire near Monte Lake

 (Image Credit: Dan Newcomb)

By Chad Klassen

Aug 19, 2021 | 11:04 AM

KAMLOOPS — The provincial government is facing some serious questions after a leaked memo pointed to an extreme fire season and a lack of resources that wouldn’t be able to keep up.

It forced residents Dan Newcomb and his brother David to feel they needed to stay behind and work tirelessly to put out hot spots. They are working near Monte Lake on the White Rock Lake wildfire.

“We are running around doing spot fires. It’s really good today. After the rain, it really settled things down, but after [the B.C. Wildfire Service] did the backburn — we’re on the northeast end of the guard up Ivor Road — there was a lot more spot fires. We’ve had a lot of guys running around with totes putting things out,” said Newcomb.


They’ve been there basically since the fire ignited July 13. They felt they had no choice but to stay behind with what they felt was a lack of firefighting resources.


“There was no support to begin with. It’s been said many times, but in Paxton Valley there was no structural support. No one came through,” Dan noted.

So it’s no surprise to the Newcomb brothers that a memo sounded the alarm bells about a shortage of personnel and a warning about an extreme fire season.

The memo is dated July 12 — a day before the White Rock Lake fire started. It was written by a member of the forest industry after a conference call that included the B.C. Wildfire Service.


Kamloops-South Thompson MLA Todd Stone feels it contradicts what the provincial government has been saying about being prepared for the fire season.

“The government has been spreading misinformation about the level of resources that have been made available to the B.C. Wildfire Service,” said Stone. “This memo is damning. It clearly states that the B.C. Wildfire Service does not have the firefighters they need, the equipment they need, the air support they need.”

Stone says it proves that Monte Lake and Paxton Valley residents were right to stay behind to fight the fire.

“People up there impacted have been made to feel like they’ve been irresponsible, that they don’t know what they’re talking about, that they’ve been making up stuff,” said Stone. “And it turns out that it’s actually the government — the Premier [John Horgan] and the Minister [Mike Farnworth] in particular — who have been doing exactly that.”

Stone says he hears from local contractors every week who have the equipment and are ready to help.

“Whether those are fire suppression systems, structural protection units, water curtain systems, similar to what saved, in part, Logan Lake,” said Stone.

Farnworth responded, “Over 1,000 contractors working on the fires in British Columbia, and to suggest the wildfire service has been leaving resouces idle in other provinces is simply false and not true.”

Meantime, the Newcomb brothers would love to be compensated for the equipment and water they’re using to keep the White Rock Lake fire from reigniting around Monte Lake.

BCWS has responded to the memo. We have reported on their response here.