Fire In The Mountains


The province of Alberta is covered with diverse terrain from prairie to forests making it a destination for over 22 million tourists from around the world.  The fourth largest provincial industry, tourism accounts for close to $4 billion annually in revenue. At any time of the year, visitors can find outdoor recreation from skiing and snowboarding, to hiking and camping.

The Bow Region, containing areas like Kananaskis Country, Bow Valley Wildland Park and Banff National Park, covers an area of southern Alberta close to 23,000 square miles.  Dry land farming, irrigation and ranching are important agricultural activities within the area hosting 35% of Alberta's population, including the City of Calgary.

With the numbers of people visiting Alberta parks each year, sometimes things go wrong.  A campfire left unattended, a match or burning cigarette carelessly flicked into brush...  It may seem hard to believe but these tiny embers, fanned by dry mountain breezes, contribute to more than 900 forest fires destroying 50,000 hectares of land each year.

This is my story...

Susan and I had made plans to head out to the country for the day to shoot some of the scenery at Elbow River Falls.  I had loaded my EOS-3 with Fuji NPH 400 and attached my 100-300mm lens, knowing that she would have her EOS-300 and a 28-80mm lens.  I neglected to bring my camera bag with voice recorder, opting to stow 2 extra rolls of film in my jacket.  

A brief drive southwest of Calgary found us in the hamlet of Bragg Creek.  Nestled in the foothills, along the Elbow River, Bragg Creek is one of the entry points to the campgrounds and trails of  the Elbow Valley Recreation Area in Alberta's famous Kananaskis Country.

After a late lunch of fish and chips at "Joey's Only", we proceeded along the highway as mountains arose on each side.  I noticed fire hazard signs along the way with their pointers in the red zone, indicating extremely dry conditions.  Having camped a lot in my younger years, it was something I checked instinctively whenever on the road.

We arrived at one of the day use areas where Susan remarked how low the water level was.  "It's usually a lot higher," she mentioned while pointing across what appeared to be more trickling creek than flowing river.  We shot a few exposures, then moved down the road to Elbow River Falls, a Mecca for hikers and tourists, where we shot more photos and noted the

The copyright of the article Fire In The Mountains in Western Culture is owned by Bill Clarke. Permission to republish Fire In The Mountains in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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