42 Replies to “Newsletter #144-C, 2017 “Evacuation Special” – Part III”

  1. Rosemary Neads says: Reply

    Chris, we’re so impressed that you continue to push the envelope with your photographic explorations. That you for keeping the artistic inspiration alive!

    Dave and Rosemary

    1. Thank you. I’m having fun!!

  2. Gary Schotel says: Reply

    Great newsletters.

    1. Many thanks!

  3. Bill De Meester says: Reply

    Thanks for the update Chris, another chapter behind you and another one starts
    Stay well
    Bill

    1. Thank you Bill!

  4. Nancy mackenzie says: Reply

    So pleased to hear you are all safe. We can only hope the fire danger is over. Love your newsletters and thank you

    1. Thank you Nancy. Best wished to you on the other side of the country!

  5. I am seeing my favorite old haunts through your lens. Never been to Fir Crest yet passed it all the time when we had our cabin on other side of lake. Now because we no longer have our cabin we will stay at Fir Crest in future. Love the photos and have used the fish lens many times. Thank goodness your art photos are safe and thank you for the writings of fire.

    1. Thank you Dee. Please say hi to the Ragan’s when you visit Fir Crest! They will look after you well!

  6. Mariken van Nimwegen says: Reply

    So good to hear your place is safe, Chris & Rita, and yourselves, too!
    I was backpacking the Stein Traverse the last eight days and kept a close eye on the skye all the while, hoping you and another friend of mine in Ashcroft would escape the mayhem. All of you did.
    While I was deep inside the wilderness, perfectly incommunicado, my mother died, serenely in bed at age 95. I heard the news on Sunday night, so I’m off to Holland in a few days. The ‘whiplash of life’ has hit, all of us, in very different ways. Be well you both, and be in love,
    Mariken

    1. Thank you and we WILL be in Love!!

  7. Artistic, considerate and thoughtful. Well done again Chris!
    Pat

    1. Thank you Pat. Having fun!

  8. Oh, Chris, this has been the most profound sets of pix ever, of any photog., your sharing, your confession of distress, the BEAUTY you pulled with your camera techniques, making paintings out of scenes, reclaiming your huge belief in BEAUTY and the HEALING of HOME. I am isolated in my home in Vernon this day, breathing smoke is not wise for me with Laryngospasm (YouTube calls it Sudden Terrifying Inability to Breathe). Imagine you are lying back in the dental chair and some water touches a cord and WHAM, the cords shut tight, an entire panicked staff while I w a i t, and go as calm as I possibly can, w a i t, then as if sucking on a straw try to get tiny tiny sips of air, s l o w l y the cords relax. The good news is, since 1999 I have had to fly to Van. Pacific Voice Clinic for treatment, 26 trips were in tiny planes thanks to Hope Air volunteer pilots, and I have wonderful images via my Canon Rebel. So I have to guard my cords. That’s good, I take care of myself in every way. I keep 6 outlets here in Vernon supplied with scenic photos on cards. Another twist of fate is the development of a pinched nerve in my left hip, from too much sitting at the computer. I try to work standing up as much as I can, it seems those books won’t get written, and that is OK, I’d rather be out scouting for more images anyway. See my Facebook page Leila Ward for image collections. BE SAFE, we need you for a long time.

    1. Hi Leila. Thank you for your story. I did look at your page and I happy to see you are enjoying life with your camera. It’s a wonderful hobby. All the very best to you…stay creative!

  9. Such talent, a wonderful depiction of the forest fires of the past few weeks.

    1. Thank you Leona!

  10. Ernie Siemens says: Reply

    Thanks for the articulate updates and excellent images. Just very happy for you and Rita that your home and gallery have been spared. It will be wonderful to see all of BC’s wildfires contained and eradicated and hopefully no more homes lost and especially no lives lost.

    1. Thank you Ernie. A few have been lost for sure but it could have been a whole lot worse. We have been spared…so far at least.

  11. Ron & Betty MacDonald says: Reply

    Chris you have lived a charmed life. While others evacuees slept in cots in gymnasiums you
    stayed in a lake front lodge. You have been very fortunate to be living a life that others only
    enjoy each year in short vacations. So its great to hear that you and Rita also your dog are
    safe from this terrible wild fire situation we have had this summer.

    1. Hi Ron and Betty. I feel very blessed and am aware of that fact every day I live. That is why I try and give to others as much as I can through my photography. Hoping you are both well and enjoying an active summer.

  12. Ron & June Polack says: Reply

    Great thanks for your quiet heroism and ingenuity Chris. Welcome Home! Stay watchful and safe!

    1. Thank you Ron and June. I hope you are both doing well and enjoying the sunny days of summer. We are both doing well in the Cariboo!

  13. Bob Steventon says: Reply

    All three parts of this newsletter, the text and the images, have been incredibly moving. We also live surrounded by forest. The experiences of so many people in the Cariboo could have been or might be ours.
    Anne & Bob

    1. Great to hear from you Bob and Anne, and thank you for connecting. Appreciated. We are both doing well. Hoping you all the best for the rest of the summer.

  14. Jane O'Malley says: Reply

    Dearest Chris
    I have waited to reply until your part 3 newsletter arrived.
    Although we were in contact everyday during your most stressfull evacuation – when I received your newsletters and amazing images – I was so very moved, emotional, and humbled. It certainly brought tears to my eyes.
    I am thinking of all those who lost everything – my heart goes out to them.
    Wonderful to see photo of you, Rita & Duggan returning home. What an emotional moment.
    much love to you, Rita & of course, Duggan!
    much love and special thoughts.
    your loving ‘sis’, Janie xx

    1. A big thank you Jane for your all your support and ideas on what to pack. You reminded me of several things I had totally forgotten about!! It’s hard to think rationally in times like that. I thought I was calm but maybe I wasn’t! Duggan, Rita, and Duggan send our love. We are happy at home!

  15. Hi,Chris,thank goodness your place was ok!
    often passed by and saw your sign along the highway.
    Great photo and story with your newsletter.
    It seems so sureal here in Prince Rupert as we had only 6 sunny days last month.
    our friends in Williams lake apparently stayed put down at the seaplane base and toughed it out.
    I so do enjoy your part of the country so much!
    sure hope that this fire season is an anomoly and not a consitant worry.
    The road blockages also made it hard for folks going in and out of the Chilcotin and Bella Coola.
    wish there was a safe way to allow folks to transit.apparently the Aussies have a system in place which allows a little more movement for local people.
    cheers,
    Evan Spellman

    1. Thank you Evan. I felt the same way in Vancouver as you did in Prince Rupert. Life was going on as always and people had no way of comprehending what was happening in the Cariboo and Chilcotin. It made me want to get home to help in some way. Cheers!

  16. Caterina Geuer says: Reply

    Chris, thank you so much for helping us to see what you have seen through your eyes as you witnessed the catastrophic “Complex of Fires” that took up so much of our mutual awareness during the past 26-27 days and nights. You gave beauty to terror; this is why we need artists in our midst!

    1. Thank you for seeing the value of artists in our society. They have played a huge role throughput history. I don’t claim to be one but I do try and share what I do see in the hope that it is an inspiration in some way to others. Thank you.

  17. Deborah Maltman says: Reply

    beautiful stunningly insightful exquisite, telling photography. when I got to the part of you and your wife with your beloved canine, returning home, I felt so buzzed with sudden rushing of energy alive. an intensity of emotional overwhelm of a mixed kind. I am sure it is a lingering hint of what the journey all must have been like. Thank you –from South Western Ontario, of whom has a big chunk of heart in the wilds of BC.

    1. Thank you Deborah…all the way to Ontario! Appreciated.

  18. Annette Franke-Terbille says: Reply

    Thank you for all the information and for much more than that – the feeling, the tension and the transformation of the sometimes hard reality into art. I am glad that I visited you in your gallery together with Sigridh last autumn, to see everything safe now and I hope to come back in the near future. All the best to you and your family and friends.

    1. Thank you Annette. We look forward to seeing you!

  19. craniosacralunwinding says: Reply

    What great fun to be in your newsletter! What a pleasure, and ‘silver lining’, it was to have you and Duggan come and stay with me. The reconnection was replenishing and inspirational! What a sacred place you hold when you stand and ‘witness’ the intensity of mother nature and the grief, fear, lose, sadness, awe, appreciation, anxiety and love that so many are feeling. In your expression and sharing of this ‘fire experience’, you help us all connect to what makes us all ‘the same’ and help us recognize that we are all a part of the grace of humanity. We are not alone. Thank you connecting us. xx

    1. It was wonderful to share my evacuation experience with you in your cozy North Vancouver home and on our walks among the giant coastal firs. Thank you so much for sharing.

  20. craniosacralunwinding says: Reply

    Oh and I LOVE my Monet garden! Wow! You have enchanted it with your magic camera brush strokes!!!

  21. How wonderful to share your Monet garden with you!! I loved it!

  22. Frank Lavelle says: Reply

    So glad your personal saga had a happy ending.

    1. Thank you Frank!

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