During the last few town council meetings Mayor John Harwood has been pushing to get a backup generator for Clearwater’s water supply.
He wants to make sure that, in the event of a major forest fire, there is adequate water to protect the community.
Clearwater presently gets its water from two main sources: The first is Russell, Hascheak and MacDougall creeks, which are located behind the ski hill. The second is the town’s two wells, one of which is located across the road from Dutch Lake beach and the other of which is located in Reg Small Park.
District staff tries to use the creeks as much as possible because they are gravity-fed.
Unfortunately, following a prolonged dry spell, the water flow in the creeks can be so reduced that there can be no water flowing downstream from the municipality’s small dam.
A prolonged dry spell also would be when the forest fire danger would be highest.
The two wells can then be used as backups, but without electric power they are two useless holes in the ground.
During the wildfires of 2003 the McLure Fire cut off the transmission lines coming up the Valley from the south. Fortunately, diesel generators could be brought in from Edmonton before other fires temporarily cut access from the north.
There is no reason why a similar situation could not happen again – in fact, it likely will.
According to the more extreme predictions on the effects of global warming, by 2080 the area around Clearwater could look much like Kamloops does today – with forest on the hills but bunch grass and sagebrush in the valley bottom.
These might be the more extreme predictions but that doesn’t mean they should be discounted.
If the forest in the valley bottom is to be gone within 70 years, what will happen to the trees?
The danger of cataclysmic fires that would make the 2003 McLure Fire look like a picnic barbeque should be self-evident.
Over the past few years the provincial and federal governments provided the District of Clearwater $2.5 million to reduce forest fuels around the community. This was a good start, but in 10 or 20 years the forest will have regrown and the work will need to be done again.
More needs to be done. Harwood’s suggestion about getting backup generators to keep our water system operational is a step in the right direction. We also need diesel and gasoline powered pumps, hose-lines, sprinklers and so on. We need to invest in upgrading our Valley fire departments so they can more adequately deal with wildfires. Above all, we need a plan that involves all Valley communities in dealing with the difficulties that the future likely will bring.
