I fell asleep to the sound of a loonSA国际影视传媒檚 eerie call across a rather smoky Frame Lake.

Then I evacuated and the next night, exhausted, I lay in bed looking at three towers all aglow with coloured lights. It felt like I was in a different world or maybe even on a different planet.

ItSA国际影视传媒檚 the first time in my life I have been an evacuee, an experience I am sharing with a significant portion of the NWT population SA国际影视传媒� ISA国际影视传媒檝e heard itSA国际影视传媒檚 over half.

Even though I was tired I couldnSA国际影视传媒檛 get to sleep so I just let my mind wander. ThatSA国际影视传媒檚 always an interesting experience because unsupervised, oneSA国际影视传媒檚 mind can wander to some unusual places.

For some reason, I started thinking about floods and how every time one is shown on the news, they like to show vehicles that have tried to drive though water, stalled and been abandoned. So why donSA国际影视传媒檛 vehicles come with a warning on the dash telling people what depth of water the vehicle can drive through?

Your vehicle, if it has a gas or diesel engine, needs air/oxygen to run so it has an air intake and filter. If water gets in there, your engine stops and you have to get the water out before it will start running again. Plus while sitting there, it blocks the road.

With the proper sensors and a little AI, maybe someday the vehicles will simply stop and tell the driver, SA国际影视传媒淲ater is too deep and ISA国际影视传媒檓 not going any further.SA国际影视传媒�

Vehicles may even have sensors that will tell you where it is safe to park and where it isnSA国际影视传媒檛. Parking under or near big trees during a wind storm is not a great idea.

Maybe vehicles and tires should also have some sort of forest fire rating. They should be able to tell you how much heat they can handle or which makes and models handle excessive heat the best.

Going in the other direction which vehicles and tires handle the cold, ice and snow the best. A few sensors, AI, and rating could make driving a whole lot safer. As my mind was wandering through this, I was watching the buildings slowly change colours. It wasnSA国际影视传媒檛 the northern lights but it was pretty in its own right.

Somewhere in there I drifted off to sleep. Ah, the life of an evacuee. In the morning, I woke up and checked the latest news from SA国际影视传媒 and Cabin Radio. It is times like these that we need news and information the most. So please support your local news agencies. They are working hard to keep us all informed.

I would suggest everyone keep a little diary or journal of events and expenses. It might come in handy later. Also, stay positive and help each other because thatSA国际影视传媒檚 what Canadians and Northerners do.

I hope someone makes up T-shirts which say SA国际影视传媒楨vacuee! I survived the wildfires of 2023SA国际影视传媒�.

NWT Strong. Stay safe everyone.