There is an epidemic of Pine Beetles in the forests of Eastern British Columbia and Western Alberta. It is a naturally occurring pest that has had the unwitting assistance of humans to help it along. Normally forests periodically burn. It's actually very good for them as long as it's not too often and they come back healthier then before. Modern times however have seen us prevent forest fires that were long overdue and we have forests full of trees that are too old to defend themselves from the beetles. A healthy tree can produce enough sap that when the beetles attack it repels them. An older treee however, basically over 80 or so, can't produce much sap and it becomes a breeding ground until it's dead. Once the beetle populations get immense they can even take down healthy young trees and then you have a real epidemic like the one we have now. To slow the spread they are burning parts of the forest this spring.
Even if it is a controlled burn you are still in awe when the smoke plume crests the mountains' ridges. This smoke appeared as we biked away from the house and I took these photos less then 20 minutes later. If it wasn't a planned burn I think I would have been scared witless and headed straight for the river.
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