I did 40k on the way to work in Vernon this morning (Monday July 20) including 7kms up the skihill road and it felt fine. The weather was beautiful, sunny and mild. With the wind from the North the smoke from the Westbank fires was blowing to the SW for a change.

I looked down on the valley from Tillicum before descending and the view was spectacular. I can see Kal Lake and Okanagan Lake and the mountains to the west, the grassy slopes as well as pockets of houses. The sky was uninterrupted blue and life was good.
THe view in the early evening:

I was in Kelowna on Saturday when the fire started and we could see the plumes from the East side of the lake. TRhe wind was strong out of the SW as usual in the late afternoon. It blew the smoke north and then veered east to the Monashees along the Coldstream valley. It resembled a mini-jetstream.

Local news says there are 3 fires, 2 threatening structures, one in an undeveloped area.
The southernmost fire is still 35 kilometres north of Penticton and is no threat to IMC. Even the smoke is no problem as it usually blows to wards the NE, away from the IMC course.

In 2003, only 36 hours before the start, there was a forest fire ON the actual course at Vaseaux Lake between OK Falls and Osoyoos adjacent to where an aid station is usually located, but firecrews got it under control and extinguished in time. As late as Saturday afternoon there was doubt about allowing the usual bike route to be used. The IMC bike route is on open highways and if the Ministry of Highways says the highway is closed, that's it, and we have to do four loops of Skaha Lake instead. It has never come to that.

Of course IMC is still 40 days away and we will have more thunderstorms before then, more lightning and potentially another forest fire, so keep your fingers crossed.

As for the current fire, it will be forgotten a week from now.

PoC

ahem, "forest." One "r."

Unless you mean Forrest Gump?

:)

PoC

Handsome fella, isn't he?

PoC