Ashes and grit

Zia’s Stonehouse is a cool place to stop. Big 120-year-old stone building. Interesting spaces. Tasty dishes. Manly portions. I have no idea if there’s actually a Zia, but we’re thinking about her today as the wildfires rip through town.

The drive down from Kelowna along 97, through Peachland and then Summerland is peaceful, beautiful, bountiful. The Okanagan is a special part of this country and the flames this weekend are tragic. At last count about twenty thousand people had been evacuated, off to Penticton or West Kelowna.

If you don’t care because you do not live there or have never visited, start caring. Across Canada at the moment almost 650 active wildfires are burning, the majority uncontrolled. Close to four million hectares have been incinerated, along with untold wildlife. Ontario’s in the midst of the worst fire season on record with 7,300 square kilometers scorched so far. BC’s drought and heat have turned forest into fuel. The latest conflagration doubled in size in a few hours.

The problem is similar in the US Northwest. Big flames around Spokane. Over 900 buildings gone and 65,000 people displaced. The worst in Washington State’s history. And all that smoke is expected to drift into the Great Lakes region later today.

Meanwhile drought conditions have reduced Lake Mead outside Las Vegas to a point where the Hoover Dam may stop generating power. First time since 1935. The Colorado River is in crisis, from a 25-year drought, over-usage and a warm winter which yielded far less melting snow pack. In Germany the Rhine has dropped so low that WW2 scuttled German boats are reappearing and commercial freighters key to the heavy industry of several countries are running aground.

In parts of India rainfall is down more than 40% due the El Nino effect. The country has the most people on earth and is also the largest drawer on groundwater aquifers, which are being depleted faster than replaced.

Scientists say the world is in a ‘global water bankruptcy’. In fact a third of the total land surface of earth is in drought. Heat has intensified. Evaporation increased. Urbanization means rainwater is shed instead of absorbed. The UN says half the world’s population faces shortages of water, seasonally, or all the time.

In Europe, particularly Spain, wildfires have been horrific. Over 330,000 people have faced evacuation and 254,000 hectares have burned, which is double the historical average. Also mpacted dramatically was the Bordeaux wine region of France.

By the way, June was the second-warmest such month in the 177 years people have kept records. The hottest June was two years ago.

Now this dogs-and-balanced-portfolio blog is hardly a reservoir of scientific data. In fact we have absolutely no idea what we’re talking about when it comes to global warming, man-made emissions nor assertions that parts of the world will be uninhabitable or under water. But wild fires, drought, crop failures, water emergencies and extreme weather cost a bundle.

The current hot weather in Europe wiped out nine million tons of grain crops, for example, worth about $4 billion. The Iran war and the shuttered Strait of Hormuz have created a fertilizer shock, since a third of the world’s supply passes through there (urea and sulphur). Prices have risen sharply, suggesting food inflation will continue.

Overall, the cost of climate change – if that is at the heart of much of this mess – is put at $150 billion a year. That’s direct damage – like from fires. Crop failures, human migration, livestock shortages, escalating cost of living and the conflicts over water and resources sure to emerge – are extra.

Low river levels, for example, mean higher shipping costs when trucks replace boats. That also bumps up emissions, and maybe makes for hotter weather. Meanwhile the US is spending over $4 billion on penalties as it cancels wind farm projects while opening up protected parks and preserves to oil and gas extraction.

As stated. No expertise here. But we have eyes. We hear. We read. We worry about Zia’s place in Summerland.

Our fires aside, Canada is an environmental oasis in this world. We have two million lakes and 20% of the entire global freshwater reserves – in bodies of water, aquifers, glaciers and wetlands. We’re third in the world for renewable water generation. Yet with a fifth of all this precious liquid we have but one-half of per cent of the global population.

We’re rich. This is a card we must play.

Meanwhile, send your vibes. May the flames die quickly.

About the picture: The Bald Range fire broke out last Friday afternoon and exanded to 103 quare kilometres in just 24 hours. It rapidly encroached on Summerland and caused about 20,000 to be evacuated in this part of BC’s Okanagan district. The premier declared a provine-wide state of emergency yesterday.

Source: https://www.greaterfool.ca/2026/08/09/ashes-and-grit/