Re: Why the new forestry sign?
In response to the letter writer complaining about the new forestry sign, I just want to clarify a few things.
First of all, the person (my husband) who created this sign is extremely busy at the moment, as are all the rest of the forest protection officers and initial attack crews that work at Kootenay Lake fire zone.
It is true that he envisioned and created this sign along with members of the fire crews. There was no “session with an art consultant” and the cost for this project was kept very low. Most of the wood came from an old deconstructed bridge and some of the metal came from scrap material in the “back 40” behind the district.
Also, the sign can be considered a source of base pride, and good for morale. The hard-working members of the fire crews used their ingenuity and skills and even brought their own tools from home to create a sign that is the only visible marking of the location of the Kootenay Lake fire zone from the highway.
Due to a busier-than-normal fire season, the sign was unfortunately unable to be completed. There is meant to be a fire danger rating sign visible for traffic both ways and plans were already in the works to make the arrows more visible to drivers.
Maybe next time the letter-writer should put in a little effort to find out the facts before submitting his complaints to the paper.
Lisa Richardson, Nelson