We have been complaining about the wet year, but it is the first summer for a while where we have not been plagued by forest fires. I had been hearing about the flowers in a piece of forest that had burned a year ago on Highway 20 near the top of The Hill going to Bella Coola. Mogens and I visited there this spring. There was snow on the ground then – it is where we saw the fox.
So I drove through Nimpo Lake and Anahim Lake and then further west until I came to the burn.
I had expected to see a lot of fireweed but found only a few spindly clumps.
The heart-leaved arnica, however, were spectacular.
I also found the burned bones of a large animal – a deer of some sort probably – I did not find the skull. The bones were scattered so the animal must have been long dead by the time the fire came along.
Back onto Highway 20, I found a large clump of fireweed right beside the road. Those are the volcanic Rainbow Mountains in the background.