As dry, unseasonably warm weather across B.C. persists well into October, the crystal blue water at Maple Ridge's Alouette Lake has retreated by at least 10 metres, leaving buoys sitting on dry land and would-be swimmers walking across bone-dry lakebed to access the shallows. Alouette Lake is a popular summer and boating spot, located about an hour's drive east of Vancouver in Golden Ears Provincial Park. The lake is also a B.C. Hydro reservoir, where water is regularly diverted to generate power and to ensure water levels are sufficient to sustain nearby salmon populations in the Alouette River.