What The Blazes?
written by: Bev Muendel-Atherstone
All winter long I yearn for gentle spring,
With snow now gone, I fear for summer’s blaze,
But sadly when spring finally arrives,
She’s choked in summer’s scorching rays.
Alberta’s forest fires favour May,
When Arctic winds her drought intensifies,
Before sap flows and trees are tinder dry,
We, most derelict, our campfires ignite.
These embers speed on searing winds,
To parched brush and spired trees,
To thwart firefighters with ferocious flames,
And brand a wound as large as PEI.
The UCP left fire crews short-handed,
When their government cut rapattack,
And fired the rappelers who quenched remote blazes,
To halt their explosion into gigantic beasts.
Abandoned, Albertans fearful evacuate,
With kids, documents and P.J.’s packed;
With pets in carriers safely stowed;
With stores of food and water loaded.
30,000 reluctant leave unguarded homes.
From safety they view their house security
And watch astonished as brazen looters
Take advantage and exploit their misery.
While in Grand Prairie, rancher Billie Loewen,
Concerned for strangers’ threatened livelihoods,
Shuttles their spooked cows in his Cattle-liner.
Then he soothes them at his ranch with cached feed.
June, July and August prepare to pounce,
With greater El Niño heat forecast;
Western Canada singes in the crosshairs,
Of poor planning and climate change denial.
We’re desperate! We want our rains again!
We want the sweetness of our pretty little May.
We hate this dangling dread each summer brings.
We want to wish this ever-present threat away.
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