Heroes of the flames
Some courageous people.Chance Paavola
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Here is a fascinating interview from the National Post with Chief Helen Paavola:
...Namaygoosisagagun First Nation, also known as Collins, is north of Lake Nipigon. Its members got themselves out Monday in a handful of small boats....
“The evacuation was done by them. There was no federal, provincial help. There was no other ministry or any entity or whatever you want to call it out there to help them. They did this on their own,” Paavola said.
“The bravery that they showed is incredible. And they deserve to have the recognition for their bravery.”
[Chief Paavola describes what happened. She was on her way to Ottawa Monday for the Assembly of First Nations}...My flight was just over two hours. As soon as I turned my cell on, it just went crazy. More pictures were coming in. They were getting frantic, telling me the smoke is way closer than it should be.
I asked my nephew, Lyndon Paavola. He has a drone that he uses for his own personal use. And I said, can you send your drone up, please, to see where that smoke is coming from. So he did send it up and he sent me the picture. And I said, that is not mile 40. That’s not very far at all.
I tried calling people again.
Then just after five o’clock, a message comes through and he says, “Hey, you need to get everybody out of the community. This fire is at mile 23.” And I said, “What?” And then they sent me the video. And I was like, “Oh, no.”
So I called the office there. And I said, “Get everybody out. Get out now. Get everybody to the landing. Just go.”
During this whole time, there was no help. They did this on their own. They evacuated themselves. And the fire was right on top of them. They watched the community burn. They were so close to the fire that they could feel the heat from the flames. It was horrendous.
Everybody from your community evacuated themselves?
Yeah, the workers there. My son, Scott Frank, and Monty Frank, Lyndon Paavola, Wayne Wastaken, Mikey and Ryan Wesley. They got the elders out and the children out. They did it on their own.
Everybody seems to think that we have big, fancy boats. But we’re a small, remote First Nation, enclosed by forest. The boats that we’re using are 12-foot, 14-foot boats with motors that are aged to the 80s.
And that’s what saved them.
Who was driving the boats?
Lyndon Paavola was one driver. Wayne Wastaken drove one boat. Chance Paavola, who was only 13, drove his little boat with his little dog. And he even went back. He was already out, and he turned around to go back to try and save more people.
Did everybody get out?
Yeah, everybody got out. Unfortunately, one of the women there had three dogs, and one of her dogs was very aged. And they had the dogs in another boat attached to them. But because it was so heavy, they weren’t really moving. And the young man who was driving that boat had to make a decision. They had to cut the string. So that member lost two dogs. They wouldn’t have survived had they tried to keep towing.
That’s not even going into the trauma that they faced. It was horrifying for them.
How did they get from the landing to Thunder Bay? It’s lucky the three drivers that were going from Thunder Bay. My oldest son was one of the drivers. He had a Starlink in the van, so I was able to call him. And I told him, you need to drive fast. And he was telling me, Mom, I was doing 130 down that highway with a van that was just shaking away.
That’s just on the (Highway) 527. Once you’re about 30 kilometres out of Armstrong, you have to go down a dirt road, and that dirt road is 34 kilometres to our landing. It’s not maintained. We tried to maintain it ourselves, but it’s a logging road that’s not used for logging anymore. Twists and turns and hills. Very, very dangerous road. You need to normally drive as slow as 30 kilometres.
The children were one of the first loads out. They got everybody into the vans, but the fire was right on top of them, and they had to race back out, 34 kilometres. They got out within 20 minutes, which is unheard of. He says they were doing like 90 to 100 to get out of there. It’s a miracle that they survived.
How is everybody doing now?
We got everybody situated in Thunder Bay. Anishinabek Nation secured rooms for us. Right now, they’re the ones that are looking after us.
That fire did consume the community, so everybody has lost their homes. And now we’re looking at long term, how do we house them here in Thunder Bay. A lot going on.
The four teenagers that were in the community were there doing their summer job. We hire our young students to cut grass and brush. They were going into their second week, and they were so happy. They were working so hard. And it’s just like that. Within hours, everything was gone.
How are you?
People have asked me that, and I don’t know how to answer that. I’m doing what needs to be done. There’s a time, I’m sure, when things are going to quiet down where I can spend some time and mourn for my community and mourn for the loss, because it’s a huge loss.
I mean, my house itself is ashes. But for me, my concern is to put my members first and get them settled and make sure that they feel safe again....
Community groups in Ontario report that donations to help evacuees are flooding in. Donations may be made to the Northwestern Ontario Wildfire Community Support Fund, a joint initiative of United Way Thunder Bay and Thunder Bay Community Foundation.
Cole Bennett provides a summary of the wildfire situation (as of Sunday):
Canada remains deep in another difficult wildfire season.
As of today, more than 5,000 firefighters and nearly 300 waterbombers have been mobilized across the country to battle the fires.
There are currently 954 active wildfires burning across Canada. Of those, 261 are receiving what’s known as a “full response.”
A full response means governments are throwing every available resource at a fire. That can include the Canadian Armed Forces, international firefighters, emergency funding, specialized aircraft, and other federal and provincial resources.
The remaining fires are either being monitored or receiving a modified response. That doesn’t mean they are being ignored. In many cases, these fires are burning in extremely remote parts of Canada, far from towns, cities, highways, or critical infrastructure. In those situations, allowing a fire to burn under careful monitoring can sometimes be the safest and most effective approach.
Of the 261 fires receiving a full response, 138 remain out of control, 40 are being held, and 83 are under control.
More than 80 of the out-of-control fires are in northern Ontario, where firefighters continue to face extremely challenging conditions.
So far this year, Canada has recorded 3,851 wildfires, slightly above the five-year average of 3,739 for this point in the season.
Colorado procession for pilot Nicholas Dale
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Premier Wab Kinew
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Countries sending help
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And in Europe too:
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What goes around, comes around
45 years ago the Premiers successfully bullied PET into getting natural resources entrenched as exclusively provincial jurisdiction, "forests" absolutely understood as natural resources in this context. (S. 92A) The "national strategy" is for the Premiers to do their jobs!
— John Michael McGrath (@jm-mcgrath.bsky.social) July 20, 2026 at 5:39 PM
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FTFG (Fuck This Fucking Guy)
Apparently because he was mad at the wildfire smoke, Trump decided Monday would be a good day to try to panic Canada by announcing new 50% tariffs on autos, dairy and booze effective August 19.
But it wouldn't surprise me that the real reason is because Carney was more popular on Sunday at the World Cup match.
There is nothing too petty for Trump.
Premier Eby sums it up perfectly
And on a side note, here's a much happier post
World Cup Stories
Oh, wasn't it great that Spain won?
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Premier Eby sums it up perfectly
And this time Canadians aren't particularly frightened - after all, its likely that Trump will just TACO anyway - but we are royally pissed offIf you’re picking fights with Canadians, you don’t have a friend in the world.
— David Eby (@davidebybc.bsky.social) July 20, 2026 at 6:16 PM
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I just saw Trump called "demented hell turnip" on Threads and I am here for that!New official statement from the Prime Minister’s office just dropped ☠️😂
— 🍁🇨🇦Team Canada Forever🇨🇦🍁 (@teamcanadaforever.bsky.social) July 20, 2026 at 9:12 PM
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And on a side note, here's a much happier post
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World Cup Stories
Oh, wasn't it great that Spain won?
And this was a great moment too:
Here's the final position for Canada
— The Globe and Mail (@theglobeandmail.com) July 20, 2026 at 5:45 PM
Here's an excellent BBC closing tribute to the entire World Cup experience
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I loved this Ted Lasso scene, and here is a remix:
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The whole world was saying FTFG too
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1 comment:
Put Us booze back on the shelf so I can reject it like I do with US food at the grocery store. There may be other that would do the same.
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