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Hot August nights to continue

Campbell Riverites will continue to seek relief from soaring temperatures
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Alorha Gruszie

This past weekend has been the hottest on record in the last 10 years.

According to Environment Canada’s statistics, last Thursday’s high of 33.5 degrees is the hottest in Campbell River in the last 10 years, beating even Aug. 18 of 2014 and that month has the highest average temperature on record in the last 10 years.

The forecast for the upcoming week is rivalling those numbers.

In 2014, the average high was 26.2 and the average low was 12.2. So far this month, the average high has been 25.3 and the average low has been 12.5.

This comes following the second coldest July, on average, since 2011. The average high for the month was 22.5. The average high in 2011 was 19.9.

With this heat came an Island-wide fire ban that included the City of Campbell River imposing an internal ban.

As of Tuesday, six days after the city’s fire ban was put in place, the Campbell River Fire Department had responded to 19 incidences of fires, beach fires or smoke.

“One could have been a significant event off of Jubilee and Dogwood about 300 metres into the brush there that we were fortunate to locate and get to before anything got too serious,” said Thomas Doherty, deputy fire chief. “People are getting the message. People see smoke they call right away which is a good thing.”

Despite the fire ban, there are still fun options in the area to get out and enjoy the weather.

An informal survey of suggestions to keep cool conducted by this writer – a recently transplanted Albertan – found the majority of people recommending McIvor Lake. The opportunity to snag your own section of sandy beach is enticing. Even if you can’t, there is lots of beach, and even more water, to go around.

Other highly recommended options, if you have a little more time to travel, are Buttle Lake, Morton Lake and Brewster Lake. There is also a good place to swim at the Quinsam day use area.

If you’re in for more of an adventure, try to find the Quinsam potholes. As the water goes over the rocks it gets nice and warm, and the little waterfalls and mild current mean there is something for everyone to explore and swim. I’ve heard there are also potholes on the Oyster River that come highly recommended.

If waterfalls are your  thing, I’ve been told to take a dip at Nymph Falls on the Puntledge River just off of Forbidden Plateau Road.

For those attached to the beach, Saratoga is my personal favourite, though Miracle Beach is a good option.

And if swimming isn’t your thing, keep cool just floating along the river in either Campbell River or Courtenay if you want to get out of town for the day. There are of course other options to beat the heat. Exploring the Upana Caves near Gold River will keep you out of the sun for awhile.

But at the end of the day ice cream will make or break any great adventure and Discovery Pier is always a good bet for scenery and ice cream.