Canada's British Columbia declared a state of emergency after wildfires forced over 20,000 people to evacuate. The Bald Range fire triggered the largest evacuation event of the summer. Summer started two months ago.
Officials made the announcement using their mouths and possibly some paper. They said words like "unprecedented" and "crisis" because that's what officials do when things catch fire. Trees burned. People left. The state got declared.
Twenty thousand people fled their homes because a mountain range nobody had heard of until Tuesday decided to become a barbecue pit. The Bald Range. Not the Lush Range. Not the Verdant Range. The Bald Range. Even the name knew this was coming.
Retail traders in Vancouver checked their portfolios between packing boxes. One guy definitely tried to buy Canadian water utility stocks while his garage filled with smoke. He's still holding. The stocks dropped 3% because nothing makes sense and correlations are a lie your broker tells you to keep you trading.
The evacuation represents the largest movement of Canadians since the last time someone offered free healthcare across a provincial border. British Columbia has mountains and forests and people who enjoy both of those things right up until both of those things try to kill them simultaneously.
Fire season happens every year. Every year people act surprised. Every year officials declare states of emergency like they're handing out participation trophies. Every year the same headlines run with different numbers attached.
The Bald Range wildfire burned through acres of land that had the audacity to be dry during summer. Trees that spent decades growing got turned into ash in hours. Nature remains undefeated in its commitment to chaos and its total disregard for your calls on Canadian timber futures.
The state of emergency gives officials special powers to move resources and issue orders. Those resources will arrive after everything finishes burning, right on schedule.
Photo by Albert Stoynov on Unsplash
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