Over the past weeks we have watched and smelled – and some have tasted – the smoke from the Interior’s wild fires.
With the winds blowing in the right direction, we were covered every day with a dense haze that obliterated our view of the mountains, the valley, across the Gulf of Georgia and along the waterfront. As we write this, the haze is diminishing and the winds are blowing the smoke away from our area, at least for now.
There are many references to smoky conditions in the history of southwestern B.C., but they were usually from fires in the local region, not far into the Interior. There are stories of brush fires in areas that we would now recognize as Burnaby, Coquitlam, the Pitt River and Surrey. In many cases, the local community became very apprehensive at the smell of smoke – how close was it, which way was the wind blowing, what was burning?
A couple of instances in particular related to the lands referred to as “out behind Sapperton,” and on those occasions people would head out into that area to check on the origins of the smoke. Sometimes, the city’s fire brigade would also check to see what the situation was, and fortunately, while there were many minor occurrences and loss of buildings, nothing too terrible seems to have occurred. Nevertheless, there was some degree of fire and smoke.
In the latter half of the year 1898, there was a lot of smoke in the air from some brush fires as well as land clearing. This had been noticed over a very wide expanse of the Lower Mainland, across a large portion of the Gulf and the Gulf Islands and over to Vancouver Island itself.
Remember now that it was in early September of 1898 that New Westminster suffered its “Great Fire” that destroyed virtually the entire downtown area. Stories from all around the Royal City after this catastrophic event spoke of the air already being so smoky that the added smoke did not really stand out.
One fellow from Surrey rode his horse to a high vantage point to see for himself and noted the destruction along the waterfront where the downtown had been.
One family who lived near the Fraser’s mouth used their small boat to venture upriver to see what had occurred.
A man in Victoria noted that the air was quite thick with smoke and this had been the case for some time – then he heard that New Westminster had suffered a massive blaze.
We know now that the part of the brain that processes senses like sight and smell also stores emotional memories. The haze of smoke, and particularly its smell, can mark an event indelibly in your brain.
Smoke is very much a part of our history, and it will always be an unforgettable part of the year 2017 for B.C. residents, especially in the province’s Interior. Smoky skies were a warning in the early years of the city
