Our community land project is actively being threatened by wildfire! We are a 120-acre off-grid intentional community, wilderness nature-connection school and land trust located on the shores of Anderson Lake, B.C. On July 11th, a lightning strike ignited the Casper Creek wildfire 4 km west of our home. We watched the fire grow, smoke filling the valley, with flames crawling down the mountainside and quickly surrounding us on all sides. The fire grew so fierce so quickly, driven by 37ºC highs (98ºF) and ~20 km/h winds, that our fastest possible reaction time was just barely fast enough. We've taken on the role of firefighting to save our home. We are a determined group of friends who’ve been spending the last days fighting on the frontlines to protect these wildlands that have been a gathering place for so many human and more than human creatures. This land is the home to Earthkin Learning, a land-based education and nature connection school. Only a week before the fire ignited, Earthkin hosted an Ancestral Skills Gathering that brought together over a hundred people to rebuild regenerative culture. Beyond Earthkin’s gatherings, our intentional community is a hub for a broad web of people united by an ecocentric & land-based way of life. Although the BC Wildfire Service has been on the ground, the Casper Creek wildfire has grown to more than 2000 hectares in size with evacuation orders issued to the nearby village and Indigenous communities of Seton Portage and Tsal’alh. Fire services are overstretched and under-resourced, especially with this summer being considered the largest forest fire season on record in the province. So our fight was fought largely alone. We organized our surviving supplies and community to come to the fireline, all by boat as road access was and still is blocked. The main battles are past us and the crew is exhausted, and there is still much to be done. Fire breaks need to be maintained and monitored, small root fires and stumps monitored and extinguished, and the war zone generally restored to a home zone. In addition, remediation efforts and cleaning up fire debris will be ongoing for weeks. We may have evaded complete loss, but the fire is now directly attacking our neighbours in our small remote region, so we are carrying our core value of interdependence forward to our surrounding neighbours. Despite accumulated exhaustion from 72 hr shifts, we are now acting quickly to mobilize our equipment, human power and other resources with the wildfire encroaching rapidly upon them. The funds will go towards repair and restoration efforts to infrastructure, as well as fire suppression and personal protective equipment, land remediation efforts, and medical support to crew who suffer from excess smoke inhalation. Rough costs so far: Fire hoses, sprinklers, and water pumps - $8K Respirators and PPE for ground crew - $2K Radios, fuel, and other miscellaneous equipment -$3k Boat operator fees - $1K Food & medication for ground crew - $1K Loss of infrastructure and supplies on ground - Still undetermined, minimum $4K *UPDATE* We have increased our original goal from $19K to $30K to compensate for the amount of supplies lost in the burn at our supply pile. See update for photos and further details. Fire will return to this land, and as we all know, ever more frequently. We will be keeping the equipment we were forced to purchase to save precious time for future fires, for both ourselves, our neighbours and surrounding community. This gear, knowledge, and experience has left us as an asset, rather than a liability. All of us, the land, and the more than human species that inhabit it are grateful for any support you can offer. Thank you immensely.
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