RE: Slash Burn Could be Fatal to my Wife (Kensington Development at Argyle Road)

Dear Mr. McMahon:

I'm contacting you to request that you find an alternative to burning the slash which has recently been piled up just down the street from my residence at Highway 19A and Arygle Road in Union Bay.

My wife has a very serious health condition. She suffers from severe asthma and COPD. A letter from my wife Barbara’s doctor Dr. Tancon states as follows:

“…when exposed to wood smoke or any burning product she [Barbara Chapman] is at high risk for recurrence of her disease. Mrs. Chapman has already had two life threatening admissions to hospital necessitating prolonged hospitalization with aggressive treatment that included being on a respirator for a number of days and, as I have indicated, she is at very high risk for incurring significant medical complications should this slash burn proceed.”

According to your Letter to the Editor which appeared in the Record (September 28, 2011), you declared the following:

“…Those piles will all be moved further upland to either be burned or chipped.”

I trust you will choose the option of chipping the slash piles.

However, if you choose to go ahead and burn the piles, it is quite possible that my wife might not survive a third occurrence of smoke inhalation.

In other words, “Moving the slash piles further upland,” as you stated, could be fatal to my wife.

Smoke can travel long distances. In fact, it was because of the heavy smoke (carried by coastal winds) caused by the Binta Lake wildfires in northwest British Columbia on August 18, 2010 that my wife was last hospitalized and nearly died. You can view aerial footage of this fire by googling “Binta Lake wildfire” or go to this link - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2vJIhudICxQ

As you can see in Dr. Tancon’s letter (see attached), it could be a matter of life and death for my wife if the woody debris you have cleared were to be burned. And moving them upland would not be acceptable.

Are you willing to take responsibility for subjecting my wife to smoke which could be fatal to her? If so, you will be creating severe emotional instability for both me and my wife with the worry about the ill effects to her lungs. The end result would be that you could be facing civil liability and criminal negligence if you go ahead and burn the slash piles and my wife’s health fails.

Signed,

Peter Chapman
Union Bay