Ash

[HAM radio chatters unintelligibly]

There he is.

My own personal Michael Bublé.

The Oasis looks beautiful.

Not as beautiful as you.

You know, I was thinking about you...

In the dusty van.

Then, when I woke up and brushed my teeth with my fingernail...

I can't believe I kissed that mouth.

Well, I was thinking about you, still.

And now, here we are in our oasis.

My happy place.

Face to face with the woman

who I've been thinking about ever since I left.

Ah, Mishu...

You're my stud and my Casanova.

Hmm.

Mmhmm.

Hmm, you?

Me? I've been worried sick about you.

Mm.

Just another day on planet earth.

Yeah, it's just another day on planet earth.

I know.

But I haven't been able to tear myself away from this thing.

And it was scary too.

I almost peed my underpants when I was....

Well...

No, not because of the wine.

Well, maybe partly because of the wine.

What glass is that?

Well, it's four, but you zip it. I deserve this.

Now, now, the first movement towards recovery

is admitting we have a problem.

I'll show you "problem."

[HAM radio chatters unintelligibly]

I think it's getting better.

Terry doesn't seem to be concerned at all

about how big the fire got last night.

Oh, thank god.

Hey, I got an exclusive.

You did?

About the highway?

Yeah.

Well, I mean, I had the exclusive,

until CTPR sourced the shadow van that I guess sourced me.

Come on.

Oh, god.

My last one.

Oh, me too.

[HAM radio chatters unintelligibly]

Oh god.

Dan, stop.

No.

Oh, come on!

Oh god.

Stan.

Stop.

Stop.

I can't look at you when you look at me and sing,

you know this...

You know this!

Oh lord, stop.

You should never dance.

Oh. Woo!

No, I can't, I can't.

Okay!

Shhh....

Oh, you!

Ugh, I can't...

Setting up the perimeter both north and southbound.

No more vehicles getting through,

it's too hairy.

Ten minutes. All right?

Uh, Ter, sorry.

Am I okay there?

Yeah, the van's fine just where it is.

You're okay to stand in.

We'll just stay close, all right?

Give me a few minutes, in a few minutes?

Uh...

Yeah, I can do that.

Just a few minutes though.

Come on.

Okay, so not duck soup?

No, uh... not duck soup at all.

I mean, right now we're just looking at,

like, the worst case scenario.

Uh-huh.

And what changed?

Oh, the wind is... is making its own patterns, it's...

it's folding in on itself.

Get the city, if the... if those people...

If they didn't put up such a fuss

about the prescribed burns over the years,

I mean, now there's trouble, right?

Look, Stan, I... you know how this goes, right?

I've gotta give the FIO a properly worded statement.

Uh, Ter, I mean, I have never subjected you to tabloid stuff.

They're already using words like "disastrous"

and "unprecedented."

Of course they are, because disaster sells.

Well, excuse me.

Uh, pardon me for saying this, but it's fucked, okay?

No, I agree.

All the press does is make our lives...

At all costs.

I mean, it's just what the Pope talked about,

I heard somethin'.

The Pope?

Yeah.

The... the Pope what?

Something, I dunno, something.

He said something.

The point is, you know, they're all about profit at any cost.

They're... they're... you know public opinion.

I'm all about public information.

I'm trying to be of service.

That's all.

Yeah... Well, I... I would be trusting you to figure out

a way to put it so that you're not stirring up hysterics.

Yeah. Yes.

I do not want pressure on our roadblocks.

Right.

So, how does this work for you, then?

Hm?

You don't profit financially off disaster.

It's like pennies, Terry.

Oh.

You're kiddin' me.

Stan Hurst is not up there among the giants of journalism?

I am... I am a local giant.

God knows what the shadow van over there makes.

Shadow van?

Yeah, the sha... they shadow me.

They do!

Oh yeah?

Yes.

Well, watch out for them, then.

They probably make more than a fire chief.

The bigger they are, the harder they fall.

There it is. There's the endorphins.

Okay, okay...

Peachland Voice dot ca.

Hi, is this Stan Hurst?

Yeah, it is.

Hi, this is Patrick.

I'm a correspondent here with Canada Media News Network.

Uh, yeah?

I see on your site you're pretty close to the fire.

Yes I am, I'm actually, uh, well beyond the blockade.

I've been here since the evacuation order went down

at the Upper Trepanier around 2:00 this afternoon.

Okay. And you're still there?

Uh, yes I am.

I'm planning on being here all through the night.

Okay, perfect.

Stan, can you tell me what happened?

Well, as... as you know, fire seasons in BC

have gotten worse every single year.

Uh, and our worst nightmares happened,

uh, this year, uh, when a wildfire was fanned

into flame by high winds.

But I have to say the, uh, fire crew,

the emergency workers down here

have just done an incredible job.

They've kept everybody safe, they've been fighting the fire.

They're just, they're the best people on the ground.

Uh... But, the fire, uh, it just keeps coming.

Uh-huh. Listen.