Pt 1: BC Fires - This morning, an aggressive, 33-square-kilometre fire is bearing down on Lillooet ... a small town in British Columbia's interior. Throughout most of the province, tinder-dry conditions and record-breaking temperatures have proven to be a combustible mix. More than 500 fires are currently burning including one north of Kelowna that is now more than 75 square-kilometres in size. And more than 5,000 people have had to evacuate their homes.



Pt 2: Lehman Brothers - For more than one hundred-and-fifty years, Lehman Brothers was an integral part of the American business landscape. Over time, it grew into the fourth largest investment bank in the world ... one that operated at the highest levels of Wall Street's economic stratosphere. Then, on September 15th of last year, it all came crashing down, dragging the entire global economy down with it.

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Today's summer guest host was Tom Harrington.

It's Wednesday, August 5th.

A Quebec man has apologized for filming his seven year old driving his car and then posting it on the internet.

Currently, the man said, well, you know he gets like that when he's had one too many.

This is The Current.

BC Fires - Firefighter

This morning, an aggressive, 33-square-kilometre fire is bearing down on Lillooet ... a small town in British Columbia's interior. Throughout most of the province, tinder-dry conditions and record-breaking temperatures have proven to be a combustible mix. More than 500 fires are currently burning including one north of Kelowna that is now more than 75 square-kilometres in size. And more than 5,000 people have had to evacuate their homes.

We aired a clip of Jim Trainor from Lillooett, Anne Heath, another resident, and Nelson Larochelle, from the T'it'q'etFirst Nation, which borders Lillooet.

For the latest on the situation, we were joined by Alyson Couch. She is a Fire Information Officer with British Columbia's Fire Service and she was in Victoria.

Forest Fires - Expert

Over the past few weeks, it's become common to hear people say that this has been British Columbia's worst summer fire season in living memory.

But the same thing was said just six years ago when wildfires laid siege to Kelowna in 2003. And that raises the question of whether summers like this one are anomalies or harbingers of blaze-filled summers to come.

For his thoughts on that, we were joined by Tom Hobby. He is a forest economist and agrologist. And he was at his home in Malahat on Vancouver Island.

Smokey the Bear

Now for years, the iconic Smokey the Bear had a much simpler solution for forest fires ... Only you can prevent forest fires. But some experts say that message has actually made the situation worse because it discouraged controlled burning ... something that can promote healthy, less-combustible forests. Smokey's message got a bit of a tweak a few years back. It's now Only you can prevent Wildfires. We aired a clip with a reminder of how he sounded before he was so controversial.

 

Lehman Brothers - McDonald

For more than one hundred-and-fifty years, Lehman Brothers was an integral part of the American business landscape. Over time, it grew into the fourth largest investment bank in the world ... one that operated at the highest levels of Wall Street's economic stratosphere. Then, on September 15th of last year, it all came crashing down, dragging the entire global economy down with it.

For four years, Lawrence McDonald watched as Lehman's lurched towards destruction. He was a Vice President with the company until he was let go just months before Lehman's trip to bankruptcy court. Along with Patrick Robinson, Lawrence McDonald is now the co-author of A Colossal Failure of Common Sense: The Inside Story of the Collapse of Lehman Brothers. And Lawrence McDonald was in New York City.

Lehman Brothers - Tett

The collapse of Lehman Brothers spurred a lot of talk in Washington about reforming the American financial system. Gillian Tett has been watching closely to see how much action has resulted from all that talk. She is an assistant editor with the Financial Times. She is also the author of Fool's Gold: How the Bold Dream of a Small Tribe at J.P. Morgan was Corrupted by Wall Street Greed and Unleashed a Catastrophe. Gillian Tett was in London, England.

Last Word - Where Did the Money Go?

Artist: 54-40
CD: Northern Soul
Cut: CD 5, Where did the Money Go?
Label: True North Records