Aug. 2l, 2003 A seasonal wildfire abruptly changed direction and transformed into a giant fire A 6-km wall of flame reached 50 m into the sky The fire was whipping over the slopes Every 30 minutes, the fire was throwing off the energy equivalent of a an atomic explosion
One resident home that Saturday was Elaine Hruby Her husband was working that weekend up north in Fort McMurray At 10 a.m. authorities told her to leave immediately Hrudy recalls her anxious departure by saying, “I didn’t know what to take. Y ou start doing crazy things.” After putting her cat and dog in the car, she grabbed: the lamp her husband once used as a miner her jewelry (but not his) a little plastic Buddha Hruby then drove about 20 km west along the valley, sat down on a rock ledge overlooking the 1,359-m-high Crowsnest Pass and watched the flames veer down on Hillcrest Despite her horror, she couldn ’t stop looking Hruby recalls these moments by saying, “ I felt masochistic, sitting on the outcropping. B ut those flames were like a magnet.”
The Crowsnest fire blaze burned over 20,000 hectares of forest It affected not only the timber industry, but also local businesses Tourism was hit hard, but other businesses like local dry cleaners, gas stations, restaurants and office services maintained a steady business. Another business that benefited is Spray Lake Sawmills as they used a significant amount of the burnt lumber Spray Lake Sawmills has a 28% quota of the annual allowable salvage rights in the area and will salvage the lumber they can, so that it doesn't go to waste Salvage efforts depend upon the amount of root scorch and the cost to pursue the salvage For example, burnt bark is not good, from a lumber perspective, but de-barking the trees will keep the chips clean and reduce the carbon content There are also ecological pros and cons A burned area is black and looks devoid of life, but over time burned areas also create diversity that wasn’t there before Large stands of timber smother the light and inhibit undergrowth A burned area creates ecological diversity and allows for the development of rich undergrowth that was not there before
