Sharon wrote:
>Amazing isn't it? Last week we had around the clock coverage of the
blackout
>in Eastern Canada and the States. Here in British Columbia we have the
worst
>forest fires going on in over 75 years..but we barely rate a footnote in
the
>news. We have over 870 fires raging right now. Forty thousand people have
>been evacuated from their homes, and one complete subdivision in the city
of
>Kelowna has been destroyed, five others are now in danger too. Is it any
>wonder that the people living in the Western part of the country feel
>alienated when this sort of thing is only noted in passing... and we're
still
>hearing about the blackout ad nauseum? Sharon on Vancouver
Island...watching
>for fires with the rest of the Valley
I can understand the sentiment, but I suppose the largest blackout in
the history of North America (was it 50,000,000 people affected?) and
something that resulted in the Premier of Ontario declaring a state of
emergency was something that was of such magnitude that it was deemed of
interest to more of the national viewing public. Right in the middle of
where it was happening, we needed up to date information all the time and
those reports were essential.
Many of the television networks are based in the Toronto area and for
nearly 24 hours a lot of them were running on generators. The state of
emergency was just lifted Friday evening and they had been required to
reduce their electrical consumption by 50%. So even after some of the power
was back on, they couldn't use it. I suppose things that are co-ordinated
across the country are handled by the central computers so that even the
reporting for BC was affected.
Even so, here in Ontario we have been receiving regular reports on the
situation in Kelowna, and even in the midst of what was happening here, the
province sent men and equipment across country to help out. The fires are so
enormous that they are visible from space, so we know there is widespread
devastation. Several communities have been totally wiped out. The most
effective help though is to pray for rain. Men and equipment are helpful,
but a huge rainfall and winds to drive the fire back on itself would do
more.
Sharon Briggs
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