Things that make you go "Ooooooh"...

So our travel trailer has been up the mountains all summer while my husband has been out of town on the job there. The boys and I went and camped over there with him during some of the summer.

Over the weekend the logging job got shutdown due to environmentalists passing new laws, so yesterday he brought the trailer and himself home.

Today this happens all around the camp we made http://westinstenv.org/firetrack/2008/09/16/crescent-lake-fire/ and this is the store we shopped at http://www.kval.com/news/28483744.html

We have since heard this evening it has now covered over 1000 sq.mi. and not yet contained - about 30% but winds are high and causing problems, together with t-storms.

Too close.....

:eek

 

Glad you and your family are ok! Be carefull!

E

 

Oh we were! The beauty of being married to a logger is you don't take a shovel and fire extinguisher like normal folk when you go camping.......

SHOVEL

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/Atkin/2008%20August/IMG_2364-1.jpg

FIRE EXTINGUISHER

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v509/Atkin/firetruck.jpg

 

Wow some fire, glad you made it down in time

 

Wow... be careful on your camping trips! :eek

 

How did you get a photo of me and my old Ford?


Glad y'all was not around when the fire started could of been bad.

What logging company does he work for? For awhile i was watching that logging show on the history channel

 

That's sad, Lev. Especially this part, "Cause: human".
Fire's aren't only dangerous, but take away the natural beauty of an area for years and the Cascades are certainly a beautiful place.
There's an area south-east of Mt. Hood, that had a huge fire in the '50's, that was still scarred in the early '80's

 

I wonder what Lev is hiding on the truck door...

Hmmm Photochop says... That is not your ordinary 'water truck'! :drool

E

 

Actually, I just photo-chopped the company name

And no NJ.....his company hasn't been on Axeman, which I think is the show you are referring to.

If you look at the now updated link http://westinstenv.org/firetrack/2008/09/16/crescent-lake-fire/ you can see it was at 1100 sq.mi. first thing this morning and 0% containment. You're so right Musky...a tragedy for such a beautiful area. Won't be camping there for some years to come now.

 

Guess Lev is not a Chimay fan. Does suck about the fire.

E

 

Lucky non?!

 

Fire is a purification method used by nature and within 5 yrs it will be beautiful again...

Do you have photos of the Travel Trailer?

 

Hahaha...I wish that were true.....I can show you thousands of acres round here where that just isn't so. You see, environmentalists that don't even live in Oregon or anywhere near it pass bills to restrict the clearing logging operations, even where acres have been destroyed by fire. This prevents the natural re-population of native plants and trees as the correct balance is never gained due to the carpet of debris left from the fire. All that remains is a constant imbalance and a few flies. But hey, as long as we are protecting the flies that's fine

Yes thanks

 

Question for you Lev! And this is just straight up face value, no tricks question. I just have wondered about it, and I think you will know the answer.

Would controlled burns help with most of the wildfires in the west? I have heard that since they don't allow controlled fires to burn, it makes it worse when a wildfire starts.

Just curious! :cool

E

 

Controlled burns was another thing the out-of-state environmentalists made illegal. It used to be a great way of controlling the habitat from becoming a wilderness to a managed forest. Trust me - the animals and bugs get out of there way before the fire gets near. But yes, to answer your questions, without fires forests grow unnaturally dense without the natural fire cycles to clear them. Man has become very good at extinguishing these natural fires, mainly because we now populate these areas and wish to protect our homes and businesses. So without a controlled burn the forests still grown unnaturally dense, so finally when a fire does kick up, it's far catastrophic than any natural fire would ever have been if it had been allowed to occur in natures natural cycle.

Without fires insect infestation reaches astronomic levels. Ever found yourself saying "why are there so many <insert bug name> this year?"

Trying to contain these catastrophic fires puts huge increased demand on our resources - firefighters - and their lives - which costs the tax payer inevitably.

How much is a tree worth when it has it's own natural fire cycle if only we would butt out and let mother nature get on with it

 

Thanks Lev. I agree with what you said, just wanted a better perspective on it. I have seen controlled burn areas. They look rough for a year or so, then they just turn back into a forest...

Did you ever click on the thumbnail image I posted of your 'water truck' a while back?

E

 

You're welcome

Haha...I wondered why you copied my pic....now I click on it I see why. Funny!

We are now under health warning due to the amount of pollution that is blowing in to the city from the fire. There is also another fire - the Rattle Fire - that has been burning for over a month now, that is adding to the pollution we are experiencing in the valley http://www.inciweb.org/incident/1510/. It is a big bowl here and the cold front that just came in is holding all the smoke pollution down, and no breeze to release it. Inevitably people's health begins to suffer badly with breathing difficulties and a higher increase in asthma related issues. Another heavy demand on resources and inevitably the tax payer, as a result of us not doing controlled burning but neither allowing mother nature to control the situation either. So it hits your wallet and your health.

That tree still worth it.....?

 

Don't most of the trees survive and the brush and stuff on the ground burn?

And why are you driving a beer truck to a fire... :-D

E

 

On a controlled burn? Absolutely! On a wild fire? Not at all. Hence why I don;t understand out-of-state environmentalists. They don't come and see the intense damage passing these laws does on our natural habitat that is far more damaging short and long term than any controlled fire ever would be. Controlled fires simple emulate what nature does, if it were allowed to. A controlled fire takes out the "surprise" of nature so that immediate dwellings that now exist in the forest would not be damaged and life loss occur. Meh - you got me on a rant now

That's not me driving That is our 13 year old son, who had never driven anything other than a bicycle before, and took to this like a pro. Even the double-declutch didn't phase him and he didn't stall once despite the fact he couldn't reach the pedals without wedging himself in a peculiar position in the driver seat.

E[/quote]

 

You just need a billion or so dead bugs and some animal poop to help those areas grow again. yeah.. that's it. dead bugs and poop. :crap

 

Lev, you do remember I am not far from you to the South....

 

Another thing that plagues the areas in question is drought. Michigan has much heavier underbrush, but we don't get as many fires because we don't have such long drought periods.

 

That's not what your MG's location says

 

Hope you all manage to stay safe, and keep that smoke and pollution out of your lungs, washing, through your windows, etc. - Blegh!uke

Fires are the biggest problem, natural disaster-wise here, too. Same thing happens. The C.A.L.M., (Dept. of Conservation and Land Management), are supposed to have controlled burn offs. When they don't for long enough, that's when the devastating fires occur. Sure, some form of vegetation and wildlife returns eventually, but the old growth trees and many species are gone for good when this happens.