I Love Red Lake

So I've been here for almost 2 weeks now... and I LOVE it here. The people are great, it's a very different vibe than the last 2 summers in Fort. The town is beautiful, and there seems to be a force field for bad weather. These huge systems are coming straight towards up and then they just divide and completely miss Red Lake. While Southern Ontario and even lots of Northern Ontario have been getting snow, rain and hail we've been sunshine and beautiful weather! Last week I also go promoted to a crew boss.. so now I have a new crew. At first I wasn't sure if I wanted to be a crew boss but I accepted. Since the turn over rate is higher here, people move up the crew system a lot faster so a 3rd year crew boss (like me) isn't uncommon. I went out chainsawing for my first time this last summer... I was nervous at first getting back at it but it came back to me pretty quick. We've also been doing some pump set ups, trying to remember everything I've learned the last 2 years. We've got about 1/2 the crews here, and the rest will be filtering in next week. The bunks have been do-able but I imagine it's going to get pretty hectic when everyone gets here. I go to the SP-200 course next Monday until Saturday. It's the crew you have to take to become a crew boss. I'm really looking forward to it, it'll be a lot of good learning about fire behavior and how to scout fires. It's at Vedette Lake FAB (forward attack base) which is in Fort Frances- not a bad place to spend a week. We've got 10 people going from Red Lake, a good group of people. I might head into Fort for a night to say hi to everyone. We haven't had any fires yet but Kenora has had about 25 and Fort and Dryden have had a few. The indicies (dryness of the trees/ ground) are really high for this time of year and receptive to lightning. At this rate we're in for another summer like last year but it's always so hard to know. We could have a whole bunch of rain and end up getting no fires all summer- you never know!! Hope all the snow and crazy weather has stopped at home. <3