California Fires

[birdguy 3,943]

I had read and always thought fires were needed in the redwood groves to keep the forest alive with young trees.  But I read this and I guess they can be overwhelmed.

 

 Giant sequoias are adapted to fire, which can help them thrive by releasing seeds from their cones and creating clearings that allow young sequoias to grow. But the extraordinary intensity of fires — fueled by climate change — can overwhelm the trees.  

 

Having been to most of the groves in California I hate to see these giants destroyed.  This is only part of what man has done to destroy the natural world.

 

I recall that not so long ago Joshua Tree was closed for some reason and a**holes went in there with their four wheelers and pushed and pulled some of those Joshua trees down.

 

Whiskey Grove campground in Wyoming was a favorite spot for us to go camping when we lived in Utah and Colorado.

 

It was on the Green River east of Pinedale.

 

A couple of miles up the road was a hot spring that ran into the Green.  For several years we would put on our bathing suits and drive up to them and soak in the pools.   They were pretty shallow and the warm water felt pretty good.

 

Then one year we went up and the springs were fenced in with chainlink fence.

I drove to the ranger station and asked about it.  I was told some four wheelers went in and almost destroyed the springs.  They had to be restored and the fence was put up.

 

This is not about the fires, but an example of what mankind does for both money (clearcut logging) and recreation (destroying Joshua trees and hot springs just for the hell of it because they can).  What turns fourwheelers into animals when they see something they can destroy?

 

Back to the fires.  I hope they can save the groves.

 

Betty and hiked around a small lake in the General Grant Grove.  As we were returning to the trailhead a crowd of people were looking at us.  When we got closer they asked, "Did you see the bear?"  I said no.  They said it was following us down the trail and then went back into the woods.

 

It's a shame that in the twilight of my life I have to see all those beautiful places I enjoyed in past years being destroyed.

 

Sorry for being so melancholy but I had to tell someone.

 

Noel

[charliearon 3,024]

No problem, Noel, as long as no one gets political or overly abusive.  The ATV riders are also tearing up the "Badlands" near Salton Sea.  On the long holiday weekends they are out in force creating huge dust storms and tearing up the terrain.

Not enough of a rain this weekend to do much to help put out the fires.

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

Yes Fire Ecology is absolutely part of natures life cycle, many of us grew up with Smokey the Bear and his message 'only you can prevent forest fires', that sort of thinking is flawed. The issue is people now populate the forested areas so the fires are prevented to prevent property damage and save lives, but the reality is those forests are supposed to burn and we are preventing that from happening, so when they do burn they go up much faster then they should as the dry fuel on the forest floor builds up over time, also the climate changing escalates things too, I don't think California has ever been so dry, recipe for disaster

Edited September 20, 2021 by Matthew Kane

[fppilot 4,371]

7 minutes ago, Matthew Kane said:

Yes Fire Ecology is absolutely part of natures life cycle, many of us grew up with Smokey the Bear and his message 'only you can prevent forest fires', that sort of thinking is flawed. The issue is people now populate the forested areas so the fires are prevented to prevent property damage and save lives, but the reality is those forests are supposed to burn and we are preventing that from happening, so when they do burn they go up much faster then they should as the dry fuel on the forest floor builds up over time, also the climate changing escalates things too, I don't think California has ever been so dry, recipe for disaster

Indian tribes occupying those lands had more knowledgeable methods to manage the forest than current officials.  

[Matthew Kane 1,343]

1 minute ago, fppilot said:

Indian tribes occupying those lands had more knowledgeable methods to manage the forest than current officials.  

Same in Australia, the Indigenous people there have been backburning for probably 30,000 years, European settlers took over the management of that and settled into areas where you traditionally should not be living, nice views until the fires roll through.