Monthly photo presentation of our beautiful region – see below

There is no finer time in paradise than when the weather is good.

And July was a pretty decent month in the East Kootenay – just in time to make our corner of Rocky Mountain heaven explode with life and visitors.

Along with improved weather, the East Kootenay was host to a series of natural disasters. Compared to our kin over in the Central Kootenay, we were beyond lucky to not experience any fatalities.

Still, a number of property owners in Wasa and Tie Lake find themselves still cleaning up after the flooding, as the Regional District of East Kootenay tries to figure out what to do with 40,000 odd sandbags.

For more on the high waters of July, go to: https://www.e-know.ca/news/the-wet-kootenay/ or https://www.e-know.ca/news/rains-and-freshette-cause-flooding-at-wasa/ .

The region was just shaking off the rapid rise in rivers, creeks and lakes, which also included flooding in Windermere, when the mountains began to sag from the strain of a sopping-wet June.

Fairmont Hot Springs residents were enjoying a nice Sunday afternoon July 15 when a debris dam on Fairmont Creek created a dangerous build-up that broke free and raged down the mountainside – wiping out three holes on Mountainside Golf Course, smashing into a dozens of condo units and homes, and briefly closing Highway 93/95. The scale of the water, then mud, and then rockslide was staggering and it is miraculous that no one was hurt or killed, considering Fairmont Creek flows between Fairmont Hot Springs Resort’s campground, with 600 people registered, and the resort itself.

For more and images, go to: https://www.e-know.ca/news/the-mountains-win-again/

Sometimes I believe Canadians are blessed when it comes to natural disasters and the (usually) absence of fatalities or injuries. Knock on wood.

That belief was strengthened July 20 when a series of micro-bursts pounded Cranbrook and area, at the start of a busy summer weekend. More than 1,000 trees, sitting in soils turned to feeble mush after weeks of steady rain, were flattened or snapped in two by wind gusts that surpassed 110 km/h. Dozens of homes were damaged in the fierce 20 minute storm, along with vehicles, sheds, fences, gardens, signs and anything else susceptible to strong winds. The roof of an apartment building was also torn right off and flung onto the street, about 40 feet away. More than 170 trees came down on the Cranbrook Golf Course alone, including on the back of the clubhouse.

Some Cranbrook residents went without power for up to five days. In a way, it went hand-in-hand with the pitch –in spirit showed by residents as they helped one another out. There were many impromptu barbecues as people cooked thawed goodies from their freezers.

Once again, it is absolutely stunning to think that no one was seriously hurt or killed in the storm.

To get a sense of that storm, go to: https://www.e-know.ca/news/explosive-storm-batters-cranbrook/ .

As a result of all these events, as well as the usual large number of community events that take place in July, e-KNOW was out and about more than usual. We also gleefully took advantage of the nice weather, so we’ve got a larger collection of images of our region, as it was in July 2012.

Areas/locations included in this collection are: Elko, Elkford, Fernie, Grasmere, Lake Koocanusa, Tie Lake, Invermere, Wilmer, Cranbrook, Radium Hot Springs, Edgewater, Kimberley, Yahk, Fairmont Hot Springs, east side of Columbia Lake (Lot 48), Wardner, Wasa and Kootenay National Park.

Click on an image to enlarge and to begin self-directed slide show.

Ian Cobb/e-KNOW

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