Wild Fires In Alberta

I do not know where all of you live but I live in Alberta Canada. Right now we are experiencing wild fires in our province. I think that the number of fires is diminishing thankfully. Thousands of people were evacuated from their homes. I just heard on the news that there are so many people still unable to go home & there have been homes lost. The worst of the fires is behind us now they said but there is a lot of rebuilding that will have to happen to help people. Over 7200 people are still out of their homes!

Our city had terrible air quality last week. I can only imagine how horrible it is in the areas where the fires are. Here is a picture taken last week & you can see how the smoke is just sitting over the city. Thankfully the air is so much better now. I can still smell the smoke slightly but at least it isn’t so dense. I hope that the fires get resolved soon.

I have a personal understanding of being evacuated due to wild fires. About 13 years ago we were visiting Murray’s parents in West Kelowna B.C. Murray was in the pool with our son & looking up they could see smoke billowing over the house. They got out of the pool & went to have a look. Well there was a wild fire across the highway not too far from the house. We knew we needed to get out of there. There was not an official evacuation order yet. My mother-in-law & two elderly aunts & uncle were there as well as Murray, myself & our son & his fiancé. Let me tell you it was not easy to convince the ‘older’ adults that we had to leave. Finally they agreed & gathered their meds etc to leave. We were fortunate that we got the last couple rooms in one of the hotels in Kelowna. Not long after we left an official evacuation order came through. There were evacuations centres set up where people could get supplies, money for food & clothes. * we did not take any of that. Thankfully we were ok. I could go on & on about this but it is a long story. The air was thick with smoke & large chunks of ash that fell on everything. There were no masks at that time so people had to really stay indoors but the smoke sneaked into buildings. Luckily the house was fine & after several days we could go back. It is a very unsettling feeling not knowing if one’s home will survive a wild fire.

We all hope that the people affected by these current fires in Alberta will be able to get home soon, that they are safe & have a home to go to. And we can not forget the brave people who are working to control & put out the fires. They won’t see this but I admire them & thank them. Also, the volunteers who help at evacuation renters & in many other capacities.

Here is a link to my food blog marilyndishes.com & here is a link to my Shop page!

On The Blog

I love a good veggie burger & this recipe is very nice. Mushroom & Black Bean Vegetarian Burgers

This next recipe for Peanut Butter & Potato Chip Cookies may seem a bit odd but you really should trust me on this on this one 😀. These may just become your fav cookie!

This Quinoa Pilaf with Dried Fruit can be eaten warm or cold. I love it both ways! Great as a side dish then enjoy the leftovers cold!

This post has several Cheesecake Recipes I love Cheesecake & each one of these recipes are delish!

That’s all for this week!