Forest Fires

by Peggy Gibennus

[Editors' Note: Peggy Gibennus gave the following reflection during our worship service on August 22, 2004. We are posting it here with her permission.]

Forest fires scare me. They are enormous; they are fierce and intense. They represent destruction – destruction of beauty, of nature, of God’s creatures and creations.

I am sure that all of you in this congregation have seen the aftermath of a forest fire. Some of you may have experienced fires of some sort. It might be a home lost in fire, or a threatened loss of a home. You may know someone who has been devastated by fire.

I personally remember July, 1998. I had concluded my 3-year term as a banker in the Yukon Territory and was on my way out to make my new home in Calgary. I had heard on the radio that there was a raging forest fire outside of Whitehorse. I had no idea what it was going to be like for me to get to Whitehorse. As I approached the area of the fire, I was stopped by patrol cars. I was advised that I had missed the patrol through the forest fire and would have to wait until it returned so that I could also be escorted out of the danger area.

As I looked around me, I was shocked to see that my immediate surroundings were engulfed in open flame. The trees were on fire. At first, I remember being stunned and shocked by what I was looking at but then, as I became accustomed to the surroundings, I got thinking about more than that.

I started thinking about the animals that might be caught in the fire. Were they scurrying for their lives trying to find a safe place to go? Did they have their family with them? Were they being trapped in the fire? I remember becoming quite emotional as I sat in my car waiting for my turn to be escorted out.

Then I came to the immediate … the sight I was looking at. The trees were aflame on either side of the highway. As I watched, I noticed that the flames were leaping high into the air as the fire kept spreading up the mountain and attacking more trees. I can distinctly remember thinking how beautiful the sight was, even though I knew there was destruction happening and devastation around me. It was so pretty. Fire is pretty. Sparks flying, flames leaping. The crimson red of the fire dancing violently around the green of the trees. Thankfully, there was no wind. The calmness of the atmosphere allowed me to hear the roaring sound of the fire going through the bushes.

I was thinking. When this is finished, what will it look like? Will it look like the area that was attacked down the road three years earlier? Black and charred? Black stumps, all different heights, standing on either side of the highway but heavier on the west side which must have been the more intense fire. How sad that another area had to be affected by fire. Who or what had started this fire?

Since earlier days, millions of dollars have been spent on campaigns to prevent forest fires. But researchers now know that fire is not necessarily bad. It can be a natural part of a healthy grassland or forest ecosystem. Fire reduces the build-up of dead and decaying leaves, logs and needles that accumulate on the forest floor. It reduces or eliminates the overhead forest canopy, increasing the sunlight that stimulates new growth from seeds and roots. Many plants and animals have adapted to fire. Both lodge pole pine and jack pine have resin-sealed cones that stay on trees for many years. The heat of fire melts the resin and the cones pop open. Thousands of seeds then scatter to the ground and grow into new stands of pine. Woodpeckers feast on bark beetles and other insects that colonize in newly burned trees. And so, 20 years ago, Parks Canada decided that it wouldn’t interfere in natural processes such as fire, insects and disease unless it had to – that is, unless people or neighbouring lands were threatened.

Was it nature cleaning its area out or was it man-made? It was summer then so it could have been a careless tourist driving by and throwing out a lit cigarette or littering garbage where the sun would reflect on the shiny surface and create fire. Hmmm ... will have to listen to the news and learn more.

Was it God’s plan so that the lodge pole pine and jack pine could have their cones pop open?

As I pondered about the forest fires and the aftermath of the fire, I started relating it to our lives. Life sometimes throws us into a forest fire. We enter a time in our life when things heat up and we have to deal with some tragedy. You know the kind I am talking about – a death, an illness, devastation in our lives like people choosing to zig instead of zag. Whatever the hardship, it is like a forest fire for us. We may come out of it charred. Our spirits may be dampened or destroyed. Our hopes seem lost and life seems dismal.

It is at these very times, while we are in the midst of our fire, that we forget that God is there with us. I love the line I read one time and have since posted up on my wall by my desk, "If God takes you to it, God will see you through it." How true is that? I am convinced that God’s tears are the first to fall when tragedy strikes. I believe this is not always God’s plan but since it happened, God is there and helping us through it. Even the forest fires that are not God’s plan but may have been started by humans; God will make the outcome beautiful. Isn’t that a blessing? Don’t you feel encouraged?

We may never understand, at the time, the whys and how comes but if we can trust that God is with us throughout, we will blossom in the end. We will be like the rose bud in the spring – beautiful as a bud but as it blossoms and opens up, it becomes more vibrant and beautiful. So it is with us. God is in charge.

I remember the area I drove past in the Yukon while going to Dawson City. I could clearly see there had been a forest fire. I found out it had happened just the summer before my arrival. The area was black and charred, but at the same time, among the black tree stumps, there was fresh green grass starting to grow. The gorgeous purple fireweed flower was blooming massively in the area. The ground was covered with purple. What a beautiful sight for me as a new comer.

Like many of you, I have had my share of experiencing life challenges and struggles. Some of them happened in a very short span of time from each other. I thought my world was at its end but God showed me I would blossom through it all. I have become a stronger and healthier person because of those experiences. I have been helpful to other people because of those experiences. I live life with a different attitude than I used to. I am loving life. I appreciate more than I have ever before. My faith in God has become stronger because I have seen the results that were amazing and could never have been created by any human being. God was there throughout, guiding me, strengthening me, encouraging me and loving me – helping me to make healthy choices and decisions.

Where is God in your life today? Have you had forest fires in your life? Do you feel the same way I do, having been blessed by God? It is not always God’s plan to have the events happen in our lives; however, it is in God’s plan to make the end result positive and good. We are loved unconditionally and for that we are blessed. Remember to ask for God’s help. God is always standing by, waiting to hear from us and ready to respond to our every prayer. God is love. God gives abundance. Praise be to God. Amen.