Many of you have likely heard of the wildfires that destroyed half of Slave Lake, AB...
The town of Slave Lake is located just at the bottom right hand corner of Lesser Slave Lake (Source: NASA)
But you might not have heard about the out of control fire north of Lesser Slave Lake near Utikuma Lake. Over 30,000 hectares have been burned already and that includes the area where our research camp used to be. You can see the fire I'm talking about in the photograph above, which is the largest and centre-most fire.
Unfortunately, we have lost some equipment as well as our shelter at camp. As of right now, I have no idea if my research site at Pond 40 (about 20km west of camp) is intact or has burned to the ground. If the fire has gone through our site, then a decade worth of research has gone into the history books. Unfortunately, we've run out of funding for this research... However, since the site was so well studied, it would be great for the next generations of students to go out there and see how differently the site behaves after a fire than a harvesting event. It would be kind of epic. But alas, no money=no research.
As for now, I'm wrapping up my thesis on a study site that may or may not exist anymore, which makes me kind of sad. After all, it was my home for two whole summers.
My friends from Slave Lake are in shelters scattered across the province and no one knows when they'll be able to go back home. Slave Lake was a beautiful town and it can be once again with your help. Please help by donating to the Canadian Red Cross. Thanks.
