Rejuvenation

What seems at first glance a tragedy can be the beginning of something new, something unexpected. Take the 2017 Kenow Wildfire in Waterton National Park, for instance. I had not been to Waterton since the wildfire until this past June when Jan and I took part in the 16^th Waterton Wildflower Festival for a couple of days. I didn’t know what to expect, really. I wondered if I would feel the same way as I did last summer driving in BC and witnessing the wrath of wildfires there. My heart was heavy as I looked at the black matchsticks on the mountainsides and breathed the smoky air. It was almost impossible to imagine there was any life left, but such is nature’s life cycle. Some cones need the high temperature of a fire to release their seed, and lush green growth appears like magic now that the sun can reach the forest floor.

The Kenow Wildfire burned about 20,000 hectares of the park, and while a significant amount of infrastructure was also destroyed and is now slowly being rebuilt, a surprising revelation was several unknown fire rings and other signs of indigenous presence in the park. Archeologists and members of the Nitsitappii explored these previously hidden treasures, thus deepening their understanding of indigenous life in the area.

I was in awe of the two opposites coming together so beautifully in Waterton—the charred trees amidst the green grasses, bushes, and wildflowers; the ancient indigenous sites hidden again after only a year of exposure. All of it spoke to my soul in so many ways. Sometimes Life takes us through a wildfire, but once the flames die a new life awaits, and it is beautiful, scars and all.