Cortes Currents

Recording by Bill Weaver - Priya Huffman reading at the 25th Anniversary Celebration of Marnie's Books

Recording by Bill Weaver - On the evening of Friday August 20, 2023, in the Cortes Co-Op Courtyard, 155 people arrived with their folding chairs to attend a 25th Anniversary Celebration for Marnie’s Books.  First Marnie gave a history of her book selling, and the origins of the Courtyard. Then Shaena Lambert, Rex Weyler, Priya Huffman, Norm Gibbons, Ruth Ozeki, and Erin Robinsong read from their writing. For two hours these wonderful presenters held this large crowd spellbound. This event was Co-Sponsored  by the Cortes Island Museum and Archives Society.

The following transcript begins with an introduction by Melanie Boyle, from the Cortes Island Museum.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The #1 complaint the Cortes Island Fire Department received this summer was that some people continued to use chainsaws despite the drought and the possibility of sparking a wildfire. Interim Fire Chief Eli McKenty said this occurred in multiple locations across Cortes Island. He explained the current regulations are ‘too fuzzy’ to enforce and a possible solution may be adding chainsaw use to the proposed Cortes Island Open Burning Bylaw currently before the Strathcona Regional District Board.

The topic came up during an interview with Cortes Currents last week. Chief McKenty was praising the community for the manner in which they were adapting to the threat of wildfires:

 “I think that people's awareness of wildfire risk and their efforts at mitigating that through FireSmart preparedness continues to grow. I think that's super important. Also, I think we've had fewer burning complaints this year than some years, which is good and indicates that people are being careful and aware of the dangers. So all of that's very encouraging.”

This prompted Cortes Currents to ask, “What about people using chainsaws during the summer?”


EM: “That’s a tricky one and I have had more phone calls on that topic than anything else this summer.”

“It is regulated by the province under the B.C. Wildfire Act, we actually don't have any jurisdiction at this point over either open burning or chainsaw use. The regulations around it are fairly complex, and unfortunately, there's a certain amount of room for interpretation too. I have had quite different interpretations from two different people at BC Wildfire, because I've phoned for clarification on a number of occasions.”

“Basically, there's a list on the BC wildfire website of high risk activities, which includes chainsaw use and clearing. The language around where the chainsaw can be used is a little bit fuzzy. In addition, where you can use it is based on the fire weather index at whatever you determine is the most relevant weather station for your area.  We have weather stations. There's one on Maurelle Island, which I think is geographically the closest, but it's not very representative of the weather on Cortes. There's also Powell River, Quinsam and Theodosia Inlet.” 

“Then there's other complications around how many days the fire danger rating has been in its current state, and those determine how long of a fire watch you have to have. That's very complex, and it's primarily written for industry, although it does seem to apply to private property as well.”


“I would like to have a lot more clarity about it.”


“One of the things that's in discussion at the Regional District right now is the possibility of having our own Open Burning Bylaw. We had a situation, I think it was in July, where the province briefly lifted the campfire ban on Cortes because the bulk of the area that we're grouped in with had had enough rain that the danger was reduced, whereas we hadn't had any rain. People were quite legitimately concerned that we were allowing campfires when we really shouldn't have been.”

“The solution to that is if we have our own local bylaw that supersedes the provincial regulation and we can regulate it ourselves if we choose. If the Regional District passes a bylaw enabling that, I believe that chainsaw use could also be included, but that's something that the community would have to consider, whether that was something that they would like to have locally regulated.”

If the SRD adopts chainsaw regulations, they would most likely only apply to the part of Cortes Island within the Fire Protection Area. This does not include the northern part of the island, the southern shores of Gorge Harbour, Tiber Bay or Tla’amin First Nation land.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - The Friends of Cortes Island (FOCI) are reporting a possible resurgence of the island’s Nighthawk and Barn Swallow populations, but found fewer than normal Great Blue Heron nests.

“FOCI has been interested in Species at Risk here on Cortes since we started. We have a section on our website about Species at Risk. You can go look them up. We love to engage the community. Each year, we put a spotlight on some Species at Risk to highlight them and bring awareness to the community. said Manuel Perdisa, Summer Intern with FOCI.

“This year, we've been gathering data about nesting barn swallows and herons from the 20th July until the 11th of August.”

“This is citizen science. It's data that we're collecting from the community on Cortes. It's through-out weeks, so the same bird might be counted twice.”

There were 19 Barn swallow nests in the chart FOCI sent and 14 of these were in the vicinity of Blue Jay Lake farm.

“The local farms have been seeing notable increases. All of this is citizen science, so these aren’t hard numbers I can go into. When we get reports of large increases like that, that will really just mean there is something happening.”

“I can tell you that we only had three reported heron nest sightings on the island. I was able to view the heron nests myself. They were still high up in some fir trees, but under the canopy where they were more protected and hidden away from predators. I'd really like to thank the community members who made me aware of the locations of these nests so that I was able to photograph them.”

“Nighthawks are a whole separate deal. We were asking for bird counts, and, or just bird sightings. we've been recording data about the common Nighthawks from the end of July 31st until present. Some people would phone in and say they saw this many birds at this hour of this day, whereas others would phone in and just say they saw relatively many birds in this area this day.”

“We haven't got a count on Nighthawks sightings, but based on Citizen Science reports, it seems we have had hundreds of Nighthawks sightings within this month.”

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - Norm Gibbon’s novel ‘Sea Without Shores’ is set in the tiny village of Refuge Cove, on West Redonda Island, during some of the years he was a member of the community. Refuge Cove’s story goes back several decades before that, but in today’s broadcast Norm outlines some of the history surrounding the beginnings of the Refuge Cove Land and Housing Co-op.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - George Sirk explained some of the history and wildlife that he and Kim and their friend Janet Gemmel recently explored during a walk to Carrington Lagoon and Grandmother’s Grove.


“Janet Gemmel came to visit us for a week. Her husband, Jim Palmer, died last December. He had a very rare lung cancer.”


“Jim and Jan lived out in Carrington, at the Reversing Rapids, in the 80’s.  So Jan wanted to take the ashes back and release them there, but she forgot to bring them from Courtenay.”


“She brought me my little box, which I have. It's a very cute little box and it's just part of him that is in there. Jim is my oldest friend, 60 years I knew him. We did a lot of stuff together. We lived in the Charlottes (Haida Gwaii) together. We went to Panama together when we were 20 years old and then came to Cortes.”


“Jan wanted to take the ashes back, but then she just wanted to go back anyway. So Kim, Jan and I went in July. Jan said she and her daughters will bring the ashes another time.”


“People used to come to Carrington because Jim and Jan ran a boat repair shop. People would bring all kinds of equipment out there. Robbie Graham ran this welding operation while they were building the house for about 10 years. Jan wanted to see it.” 


“Now, of course, it's just got the rave stage. Jim and Jan cleaned it all up when they left about 30 years ago.” 


“They have been in Courtenay for 25 years. Jan and Jim were really involved with salmon enhancement and the creation of the Morrison Creek headwaters. They basically got the money and got all kinds of agencies involved  in buying up the Morrison Creek Headwaters. Jan's a super salmon expert.” 


“Anyway, that's why we went for the walk and did the whole giant loop.” 


“When one goes out to Carrington, one either bicycles or you take your car or whatever, but there's no sign that says Carrington Bay.” 


“It's one of those great places where there are no signs. I love places where there's no signs. It makes it quite interesting. Like, is this the right place?” 


“It's just a little track going off to the right on the last bend before you drop down to Coulter Bay.  You pass the turn off to the ferry and drive almost a couple of kilometres. The track is on your right.” 


“We leave cars at the road itself. In the winter, the ruts in that track are mud - 18 inches deep.  People like to take their 4x4’s in.  Everything in July, of course, was like cement, completely dry.” 


“We walked in and then passed some old cars.  It's this old car graveyard. I want to do a calendar for Cortes, ‘the cars of Cortes’ - the ones that have been abandoned deep in the bush, trees growing through them and all that.”


“You pass the cars and  get to a clearing on your left after about 15 minutes. It's called the orchard.  I'm trying to remember the name of that orchard, is it Cowan's Orchard? Anyways, a baby was born there in about 1983, to a young couple from Quebec, in a teepee tarp thing over an old log house. It's all collapsed because back in the 1920s people had homesteads out there. There are apple trees, a Transparent and everything. There were quite a few people living at the orchard. A lot of French Canadians came and it was actually quite a community.” 


“The closest human habitation would be Blue Jay Lake Farm, that's close to where Peter Police's place was. The chestnut tree  grows there.  I remember  it was an orchard.  He eventually moved to the western end of the Gorge. He was quite a famous character in his day. I think that was in the 1930s and 40s.” 

More in the podcast

Manda Aufochs Gillespie/ Folk U - Michael Keith played a beautiful set in the Village Commons tent on the afternoon of August 18th. The eighth concert in the Friday Market Live Music Series was well-attended and full of laughter. Playing an entirely improvised set, Michael entranced the audience with a wide variety of musical textures – made entirely through his guitar and pedals.

About halfway through the concert, he began to improvise an song about the Village Commons. He sang: “The Village Commons – not so common after all”.

Michael’s humour endeared the audience almost as much as his transportive music. When asked for a short artist biography, Michael pondered for a few days and then jokingly responded:

'Michael Keith was born in the winter of 1932 in Sleeping Bag Manitoba. Throughout the late 50s and 60s he perfected the art of time travel and is currently living as a baker during the Italian renaissance.'

Manda Aufochs Gillespie hosted the concert live on Folk U Radio. August 25th will be the ninth and last concert in the Friday Market Music Series.

Folk U Radio is taking old school viral every Friday at 1 and Mondays at 6:30 p.m./Wednesday at 6 a.m. @CKTZ89.5FM or livestreamed at cortesradio.ca. Find repeats anytime at www.folku.ca/podcasts.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - There have been large wildfires on Cortes Island, in the distant past. The largest shown in the 2011 Wildfire protection plan was more than 330 acres in extent, and there were two fires that burned close to 255 acres. Those were Those were in 1932, 1924 and 1923, respectively. There hasn’t been a fire larger than 10 hectares since at least 1950.

This could change, as our summers become warmer and dryer. 


Last week Premier Ebby declared a state of emergency in face of the worst wildfire season in BC’s history.

While there are no major fires in our immediate vicinity, the BC Wildfire service says, “We are in a drought condition. Our forest fire fuels are very dry and the ignition potential is extremely high.” 

So Cortes Currents asked interim Fire Chief Eli McKenty what the situation is like on Cortes Island.


“Conditions on Cortes right now are slightly better than they have been,  but  most of the wildfire weather stations in our area are still ranked four, which is very high fire danger, so we're definitely not out of the woods yet,” he began.

Louis Belcourt/ Folk U - On August 11, Heather Wolf and the Wild Revival played the seventh concert in the Friday Market Live Music series under the Village Commons tent.

Performing an eclectic mix of music, they captured the attention of the audience with their sweet harmonies, contagious energy, and vulnerability. The Portland-based band tries to come to Cortes every summer and were originally brought by Heather Wolf. Heather has family ties to Channel Rock and has been a both a camper and a zilla (camp councillor) with the Power of Hope.

Playing instruments as diverse as Appalachian dulcimer, mandolin, synth, and electric guitar, Wild Revival describes itself as “a band of troubadours wielding magical realism on the chariot of psychedelic folk rock”. Louis Belcourt hosted the concert live on Folk U Radio.

Folk U Radio is taking old school viral every Friday at 1 and Mondays at 6:30 p.m./Wednesday at 6 a.m. @CKTZ89.5FM or livestreamed at cortesradio.ca. Find repeats anytime at www.folku.ca/podcasts.

Roy L Hales/ Cortes Currents - In the midst of the worst fire season in BC’s history, Premier Ebby declared a state of Emergency last Friday. 

However there are no major fires in the Discovery Islands. The Village Bay Lake Fire, on Quadra Island, seems to have been brought under control in a single day.

Aside from that, the closest wildfires are in Phillips Arm and the Strathcona Provincial Park. 


Cortes Currents asked BC Wildfire Information Officer Kimberly Kelly for an update on local conditions and insight into what they mean.


KK: “I can tell you about the Strathcona Park fires. These are five known lightning-caused fires. Three of the wildfires are listed as under control. Two of the wildfires have merged, producing smoke that is highly visible from a wide area. That includes Campbell River, Courtney, Comox, and Gold River. This fire is in a high elevation and steep terrain.”


“The fire is being monitored, together with our partners in BC Parks. When a fire is being monitored, this means that the BC Wildfire Service is observing and analyzing the fire, but it is not immediately suppressed. The BC Wildfire Service recognizes fire as an essential ecological process supporting biodiversity and ecosystem resiliency.”


“It's been determined that natural fires that do not threaten safety or infrastructure should be allowed to burn as part of the natural process of the park until it is extinguished by rain or begins to threaten values. If that occurs, they will be actioned where it is safe to do so. Given the long term forecast and the drought conditions, some of these fires may continue to burn and produce smoke into the fall.”


CC: What’s happened with the Quadra Island fire? 


KK: The Quadra Island fire is listed as under control at 1.5 hectares. 


CC: That was pretty quick, at least it seemed pretty quick to me. 


KK” We have a very good initial attack success rate. That is our priority, particularly in areas where there are high values. That is life and safety of the public and property and critical infrastructure.” 


CC: The only other fire I'm aware of in our area is Philips Arm.


KK: “It is listed as 92 hectares and out of control, again, a naturally caused fire, lightning. This fire is located in very steep and dangerous terrain. No crews are currently assigned to this fire, as our field staff has determined that there's no workable objectives to assign to crews at this time. So access options are being evaluated.”