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The aftermath of the Westside forest fires are still emerging, with so many harrowing stories of family homes burned.. – we were contacted by someone we know in Australia, who have old friends that have lost their home and are desperate to find a place to rent short term – we are posting here in case any of our readers can help – they are both teachers in Vernon, so somewhere close to the city would be good. (contact me if you can help)
We can’t imagine the loss and impact this must have on families – we also know of at least two other friends of our daughters who had their homes burned to the ground in that location. – Unfortunately the hot weather is forecast to continue for at least another week, with no rain. -AND the fires are not all out yet. – In fact we heard of one just on the South side of Vernon but they jumped on that grass fire quickly.
One thing that I would mention, is that while this fire was started by a crashed ATV on Indian land -people should not suddenly think that these and dirt bikes should be banned from Crown land – yes responsible use should be observed especially keeping clear of long dry grass, and carrying extra water is a good idea.
Another thing that is sometimes mentioned is the ebikes are fine in these conditions, when in fact all it takes is a battery malfunction to set off a fire that is very difficult to put out. There was even a case one time of a downhill mountain bike rider catching his footpeg on a rock, which caused a spark and set the woods on fire. We want everybody to enjoy our great outdoors, but please act responsibly and leave it as you found it.
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Answer to the last quiz – John Stoodley from Stateside – well known for his TY and Gas.Gas expertise. – Bob Clark got it as did Roger Boothroyd.
Quiz today. Guess who? he also had a brother who raced – What bike is that? ( Check out that “Stubby header pipe”)
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Yesterday we had a long phone chat with Pete Bustin who called from Ymir -just to check up on us – it’s always good to hear from old friends and in Pete’s case we sure have shared some great times. Pete’s son is one of the brave Fire Fighters who are the first ones dropped into new fires to prepare the area for the main assault, a very dangerous job.
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I think this might be a good time to mention we do have spark arrestors for Beta and TRS Trials bikes.
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We haven’t heard from Roy so don’t know what his status is over at The Valley of the Sun – Caroline is still in her place at Fintry just down the road, and Doug has gone back to Alberta.
I wonder if this spot will still be there when we do manage to get over there again – rain rain rain !!!!!!
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