Wildfire(s) Out West

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  • oftenreading
    oftenreading Victoria, BC Posts: 12,856
    I am currently stuck in San Francisco airport. Was supposed to fly back to the island via Seattle but Seattle is essentially grounded due to smoke. I might get as far as Seattle but won’t get home tonight, which throws a bomb into my work schedule. 
    my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
  • Thirty Bills Unpaid
    Thirty Bills Unpaid Posts: 16,881
    oftenreading said:
    I am currently stuck in San Francisco airport. Was supposed to fly back to the island via Seattle but Seattle is essentially grounded due to smoke. I might get as far as Seattle but won’t get home tonight, which throws a bomb into my work schedule. 
    Oh oh.

    Family is headed to Seattle tomorrow to watch a ball game and then fly out to Orange County and Disneyland on Tuesday.

    Darn. I hope things improve.

    (and sorry to hear of your predicament)
    "My brain's a good brain!"
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    Sorry to hear the bad fire news, Canadian friends.  I visited up in Washington a few times in the mid 80's and lived in up there from about late 1989 to 1983 or so and traveled up there a few times after that and never had bad smoke days or heard much about them in that region.  Now it seems like a regular summer/fall thing up there.

    And though big fires are not uncommon down hear, the sizes are increasing- the Mendocino Complex is now just under 390,000 acres with one section 100% contained and the much bigger portion at 76% containment.  It's the largest fire in the state on record with the second biggest weighing in at 281,893.  That means this new record is something like 45% bigger than the old record. 

    And what is normally the worst weeks of fire season- late August through Early to mid October- those are still ahead of us.

    So I totally get what Thirty was saying.  When are they going to start talking about doing something that works? What are we hearing from some certain politicians is that the solution to all the fires is to "cut more trees".

    We're going to visit some people further north in California and I was checking it out on Google maps to see what it looks like up there after not being in this area since 1978 or so.  I can't believe how many people are living up in that dry, timbered, hot country.  That's not helping.

    And if you look westward at a higher elevation of the lower Sierra Mountains there, you see this:


    All of the brown patches are relatively small clear cuts.  I agree with the notion that small clear cuts are better than large one, but this scene goes on for miles. 

    So the current thinking of some is to cut more trees?  Like, what?  Cut all of them?  Sure, and make it all a desert.  Brilliant.

    What we've already  done has led us to where we are.  What we are doing now is not working.  If we don't address this and other serious problems from an intelligent, science backed basis, we won't be doing anything.  We won't be.  Planet won't mind, but what a waste.



    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • Meltdown99
    Meltdown99 None Of Your Business... Posts: 10,739
    ’Hard on water:’ Smoke not the only long-range effect of wildfires

    https://www.chathamdailynews.ca

    People with asthma and other respiratory illness's have my sympathy and I really hope they stay indoors as much as possible.
    Give Peas A Chance…
  • oftenreading
    oftenreading Victoria, BC Posts: 12,856
    Thirty Bills Unpaid said:
    oftenreading said:
    I am currently stuck in San Francisco airport. Was supposed to fly back to the island via Seattle but Seattle is essentially grounded due to smoke. I might get as far as Seattle but won’t get home tonight, which throws a bomb into my work schedule. 
    Oh oh.

    Family is headed to Seattle tomorrow to watch a ball game and then fly out to Orange County and Disneyland on Tuesday.

    Darn. I hope things improve.

    (and sorry to hear of your predicament)
    SeaTac is a complete cluster. Good luck to you and your family. 

    On the bright side, they almost completely dispensed with security screening, in order to accommodate the thousands of people in line. Shoes stayed on, everything stayed in the bags, and you just walked through the metal detector instead of the body scanner. That part was good. 
    my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
  • Meltdown99
    Meltdown99 None Of Your Business... Posts: 10,739
    Wildfire moves closer to Glacier National Park's scenic road

    https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/wildfire-moves-closer-to-glacier-national-park-s-scenic-road-1.4059802#_gus&_gucid=&_gup=twitter&_gsc=uVX5vpf
    Give Peas A Chance…
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    Meltdown99 said:
    Wildfire moves closer to Glacier National Park's scenic road

    https://www.ctvnews.ca/world/wildfire-moves-closer-to-glacier-national-park-s-scenic-road-1.4059802#_gus&_gucid=&_gup=twitter&_gsc=uVX5vpf
    Not good! 

    I was happy to see that the Ferguson fire that threatened Yosemite (and in fact did, cross over into the park but just a little) is now 100% contained.  That was close.
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • unsung
    unsung I stopped by on March 7 2024. First time in many years, had to update payment info. Hope all is well. Politicians suck. Bye. Posts: 9,487
    That Glacier fire looks nasty.
  • blackhawks
    blackhawks Posts: 307
    I sure hope the Glacier Fire gets contained soon.  All the fires too.  In AZ they have been shutting down the forests when it is dry.  Because there are too many stupid humans.  That is what it has come to here.
    91 - Ames Iowa CY Stephens Auditorium
    Lots Lots Lots of shows.....
    2018 - Seattle 2/Missoula
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    Are there control burns in Canada?  It seems at this point, the best strategy is continued control burning to reduce the fire ladder.  More rain would certainly help as drought is what is causing bark beetles to kill too many trees. It's a dicey situation were in.
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • unsung
    unsung I stopped by on March 7 2024. First time in many years, had to update payment info. Hope all is well. Politicians suck. Bye. Posts: 9,487
    It seems like a vicious cycle to an outsider.  If it is a drought year the trees get dry and will ignite with little source, if it is a rainy year that leads to a lot of undergrowth fuel the next year.
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    unsung said:
    It seems like a vicious cycle to an outsider.  If it is a drought year the trees get dry and will ignite with little source, if it is a rainy year that leads to a lot of undergrowth fuel the next year.
    That's actually tied to part of the equation of why we are having so much fire.  Before Smokey the Bear (aka US Forest Service) go t so gung ho about suppressing wildfire and before drought became more severe, and before over-cutting and replanting with mono crops tree farms, there were healthy, diverse forests in the west.  Another major factor is the introduction of a wild oat brought by the Spaniards.  That "weed" is why the call this "The Golden State".  That characteristic is actually quite unnatural- caused by invasive exotic flora that is responsible for much fire activity.

    Before all these changes occurred, natural lightning strike fires or fires set by Native Americans regularly burned off the native grasses and low growing shrubs.  Some of these shrubs like manzanita actually do better when burned off because it helps propagate them.  This reduction of lower and weak grow is what is meant by "natural reduction of the fire ladder". 

    Before Europeans colonized the west, a natural balance kept the forests and grasslands healthy and vibrant.  Human intervention in the west has wrecked havoc and the bill has come due. We probably will not see a stable environment in the west for several generations, if ever, as long as humans continue ignore natural balances.
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • unsung
    unsung I stopped by on March 7 2024. First time in many years, had to update payment info. Hope all is well. Politicians suck. Bye. Posts: 9,487
    Interesting, thanks.   :)
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,664
    unsung said:
    Interesting, thanks.   :)
    You're welcome, although you could certainly say with a fair degree of truth, "Brian, you are too obsessed with fire these days!"
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • Meltdown99
    Meltdown99 None Of Your Business... Posts: 10,739
    brianlux said:
    Are there control burns in Canada?  It seems at this point, the best strategy is continued control burning to reduce the fire ladder.  More rain would certainly help as drought is what is causing bark beetles to kill too many trees. It's a dicey situation were in.


    Fire management
    https://www.pc.gc.ca/en/nature/science/conservation/feu-fire
    Give Peas A Chance…
  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,693
    edited August 2018
    OMG, today we are literally choking on the smoke in metro Van. It's so bad it's making it difficult to work. The smoke is inside our office, burning our eyes and throats. I'm also feeling a little lightheaded from it. This sucks!! There was a day and a half of more clear air before the weekend, but besides that, we haven't seen the sun clearly in a couple of weeks. :frowning: Today and for the next couple of days it's going to be worse than ever, and then apparently they expect it to clear up.... I guess there is a silver lining here though - the smoke is blocking the heat from the sun, so the temperature has been many degrees cooler than it would have been otherwise... Not too much comfort though when you're breathing in smoke all day and night.
    (In BC, this is all just because of summer drought and heat from climate change btw - Most of BC is indigenous forest, and we are simply not getting the amount of rain we need anymore during the warmer months to keep all the forests that are natural to our region from going up like packs of matches)
    Post edited by PJ_Soul on
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • Meltdown99
    Meltdown99 None Of Your Business... Posts: 10,739
    PJ_Soul said:
    OMG, today we are literally choking on the smoke in metro Van. It's so bad it's making it difficult to work. The smoke is inside our office, burning our eyes and throats. I'm also feeling a little lightheaded from it. This sucks!! There was a day and a half of more clear air before the weekend, but besides that, we haven't seen the sun clearly in a couple of weeks. :frowning: Today and for the next couple of days it's going to be worse than ever, and then apparently they expect it to clear up.... I guess there is a silver lining here though - the smoke is blocking the heat from the sun, so the temperature has been many degrees cooler than it would have been otherwise... Not too much comfort though when you're breathing in smoke all day and night.
    (In BC, this is all just because of summer drought and heat from climate change btw - Most of BC is indigenous forest, and we are simply not getting the amount of rain we need anymore during the warmer months to keep all the forests that are natural to our region from going up like packs of matches)
    You probably have the right to go home if being at work makes you sick.  No one should be breathing that crap in ... 

    I was going to go the Rockies this summer ... from the images I am seeing, very glad I didn't.
    Give Peas A Chance…
  • PJ_Soul
    PJ_Soul Vancouver, BC Posts: 50,693
    Meltdown99 said:
    PJ_Soul said:
    OMG, today we are literally choking on the smoke in metro Van. It's so bad it's making it difficult to work. The smoke is inside our office, burning our eyes and throats. I'm also feeling a little lightheaded from it. This sucks!! There was a day and a half of more clear air before the weekend, but besides that, we haven't seen the sun clearly in a couple of weeks. :frowning: Today and for the next couple of days it's going to be worse than ever, and then apparently they expect it to clear up.... I guess there is a silver lining here though - the smoke is blocking the heat from the sun, so the temperature has been many degrees cooler than it would have been otherwise... Not too much comfort though when you're breathing in smoke all day and night.
    (In BC, this is all just because of summer drought and heat from climate change btw - Most of BC is indigenous forest, and we are simply not getting the amount of rain we need anymore during the warmer months to keep all the forests that are natural to our region from going up like packs of matches)
    You probably have the right to go home if being at work makes you sick.  No one should be breathing that crap in ... 

    I was going to go the Rockies this summer ... from the images I am seeing, very glad I didn't.
    I'm less concerned about myself feeling shitty than I am about the really gross, highly unlikable old receptionist (so-called; she's actually too useless to be of any help to anybody), who is hacking and hacking and driving me crazy with it. Her boss really should tell her to go home, but it's really not my business, lol.
    With all its sham, drudgery, and broken dreams, it is still a beautiful world. Be careful. Strive to be happy. ~ Desiderata
  • Meltdown99
    Meltdown99 None Of Your Business... Posts: 10,739
    PJ_Soul said:
    Meltdown99 said:
    PJ_Soul said:
    OMG, today we are literally choking on the smoke in metro Van. It's so bad it's making it difficult to work. The smoke is inside our office, burning our eyes and throats. I'm also feeling a little lightheaded from it. This sucks!! There was a day and a half of more clear air before the weekend, but besides that, we haven't seen the sun clearly in a couple of weeks. :frowning: Today and for the next couple of days it's going to be worse than ever, and then apparently they expect it to clear up.... I guess there is a silver lining here though - the smoke is blocking the heat from the sun, so the temperature has been many degrees cooler than it would have been otherwise... Not too much comfort though when you're breathing in smoke all day and night.
    (In BC, this is all just because of summer drought and heat from climate change btw - Most of BC is indigenous forest, and we are simply not getting the amount of rain we need anymore during the warmer months to keep all the forests that are natural to our region from going up like packs of matches)
    You probably have the right to go home if being at work makes you sick.  No one should be breathing that crap in ... 

    I was going to go the Rockies this summer ... from the images I am seeing, very glad I didn't.
    I'm less concerned about myself feeling shitty than I am about the really gross, highly unlikable old receptionist (so-called; she's actually too useless to be of any help to anybody), who is hacking and hacking and driving me crazy with it. Her boss really should tell her to go home, but it's really not my business, lol.
    Maybe you could give the old receptionist a nudge about going home, and you'll call when the smoke has cleared ... 
    Give Peas A Chance…
  • unsung
    unsung I stopped by on March 7 2024. First time in many years, had to update payment info. Hope all is well. Politicians suck. Bye. Posts: 9,487
    brianlux said:
    unsung said:
    Interesting, thanks.   :)
    You're welcome, although you could certainly say with a fair degree of truth, "Brian, you are too obsessed with fire these days!"
    Not at all unjustified.
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