A Story Written In Fire

As fires go, it could have been much, much worse.

Last Tuesday night my wife and I were alerted by a neighbour that sparks were hitting the exterior of our home. Several trees had grown into the hydro wires outside our back yard, and the branches (with help from the incessant rain) were causing the current to come off the wire.

I went outside into our backyard to get a better sense of the danger. The night air smelled like a campfire. The gusting north wind was pushing sparks and tree embers against the side and roof of our home. I called 911, and within five minutes the street was filled with members of Selkirk's Volunteer Fire Department. The tree burned in two places as the fire crew soaked the branches with water from their truck. The fire was out. The immediate danger had passed.

A member of Manitoba Hydro entered our back yard and did his best to assess the damage with his flashlight. It was cold, wet, windy, and dark. The time and weather conditions prevented immediate action. But at 9:30 a.m. Wednesday morning, three members of Manitoba Hydro were in our back yard formulating a plan. There was little to no room for their equipment to trim away the offending branches, so a decision was made to hire an arborist with the proper tools to get the job done.

On Thursday morning, the scream of chainsaws and cracking of tree limbs filled the morning air. Around mid-afternoon, the job and clean-up was complete. There would be no repeat of what we saw 36 hours earlier.

My wife and I thank our neighbour, Holly, who alerted us to the fire. We extend our sincerest thanks to the Selkirk Volunteer Fire Department who dealt with this fire before it got out of hand. Their professionalism is not lost in their volunteer capacity. Many thanks to Alan from Manitoba Hydro who oversaw the tree removal work from start to finish. He understood our concerns for further complications, and because of his attention, Alan and his colleagues at Manitoba Hydro fixed the problem in the timeliest and safest manner possible.

Selkirk's local professionals did an excellent job, but I hope my wife and I don't need them again any time soon. If we do, I know we can rely on them.