At 6:45 on Monday morning, when I left the house for work, Ottawa smelled like a fireplace and the city was alive with fire engines and police cars zooming about. I thought something big -- like perhaps the Parliament Buildings -- was burning downtown, but the smell wasn't right; too much like a barbecue before the meat goes on the grill.

By mid-morning, you could hardly see the Peace Tower.

The wind changed during the afternoon and the smell was almost gone by supper time. It started to rain about midnight and conditions are much better today.