In May 2016, wildfire ripped through the community of Ft. McMurray, Alberta, forcing the eventual evacuation of the entire city. Many many many people lost their homes, their businesses and the entirely of their worldly posessions in that blaze. My elder brother and his family were among those who lost everything. It took years for them to rebuild, and many others never did.

This week, another fire is following the same path. It is much smaller than the 2016 one -21,000 hectares as opposed to 600,000 – but a city can burn in a smaller fire as well as a larger one. The upside of having burnt once before is that there is far less available fuel this time around. And as of last night, the winds have softened and lessened. So for now, the danger is slightly less, but all the same, my brother and his family evacuated a day or so ago, once more leaving behind their home (and this time their business as well), not knowing if it will still be there when they get back.

Fire can be terrifying and destructive.

But without fire, one cannot cook.

Our camp stove died on us the other night. Considering it was the cheapest model we could get at the time, and it has been used nearly every day for well over a year when most people would use a similar stove for a week or two a year at best, I am quite pleased with its performance all in all. (And yes, we have been careful with making sure there is adequate ventillation.) I got a new one yesterday. A better, bigger one. It will be nice to be able to use the wok AND the kettle at the same time.

Given that it is too warm now, most of the time, to use the woodstove, it will be the propane stove exclusively until the cooler fall weather comes again. Eventually, a summer kitchen will be a thing, but one step at a time. In a week or so, once I am sure that nighttime temperature will stay above freezing, I will scour down the top of the woodstove, oil it, and get it covered with a vinyl cloth and the large cutting board, to serve as extra counterspace. I will also thoroughly clean out the inside of the stove. Ash and soot and creosote, take the pipe down and thoroughly clean that, scrub out the water reservoir, and generally get the stove refreshed for the season.