Well Lawdog, things have changed ....
After several days of -40+C temperatures, it has now warmed to above '0'C and rain showers are forecast! This is a repeat of an earlier pattern that washed away a lot of snow and left us with a lot of slick, icy roads. Hot on the heels of that is another major front that promises a lot of snow.
There is a saying in the Cariboo - 'If you don't like the weather, wait a minute ...." While this is the norm year round, 'twas a time that we endured up to three weeks of -38C to -45C temps through January/February. Brutal as it sounds, it was a blessing as it killed the Pine Beetle infestations.
A series of mild winters let the little buggers proliferate and our pine forests were devastated, leaving a lot of 'red & dead' trees, rife for major forest fires. This was a natural cycle, nature's way of forest renewal. Now we put out each and every fire, which only prolongs the inevitable.
A few years back, we had a major fire west of us and were put on evacuation alert. It was so large and moved so fast (faster than a man can run) that it was deemed unfightable and allowed to burn itself out. An army of three hundred firefighters, four helicopters and several pieces of heavy equipment sat idle.