A wildfire has erupted in our local forests, so far no homes or people have been hurt but several beloved local trails are undoubtedly burning. So far the fire is at 5,000 acres and completely uncontained. This is an area with a well developed, popular, extensive trail system, probably the best in Arizona. Who knows how much of our forest we will lose. To put in mildly, this sucks.
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Thread: Fire on Trails
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06-21-2010, 08:06 AM #1
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Fire on Trails
"I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel...the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood." Susan B Anthony
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06-21-2010, 08:14 AM #2
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That is a bummer. We have bad fires around here too, we have had chunks of embers falling on our house before.
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06-21-2010, 09:18 AM #3
Don't worry, be happy!
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You'll be amazed at how fast the forest recovers in a year or two.
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06-21-2010, 10:27 AM #4
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Horrific
Yep! It is horrific! I came home from Tucson (where they tell you nothing about other news in the state) and on the way back through Phoenix (21/2 hours away) and could see the horrible plume of smoke from Flagstaff.
My friend was up on the mountain around Shultz Pass on the north side of the mountain; she parked her car where there are great columbines so she could see the flowers, took off on her mountain bike; and then the fire started. They would not let her go back to get to her truck. It is probably gone now! Her son and many friends have been evacauted from one side of the highway. Her house is on the other side of the highway and has not yet been evacuated. My prayers are with her and all those who live out there! As, well as being with the forest. This is some of the most beautiful forest in our area - it is just sickening!
spoke
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06-21-2010, 02:41 PM #5
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Oh goodness I hope everyone stays safe, trucks can be replaced, but not friends. This is awful. I hate the thought of the Dry Lake Hills burning.
"I think it has done more to emancipate women than anything else in the world. It gives women a feeling of freedom and self-reliance. I stand and rejoice every time I see a woman ride by on a wheel...the picture of free, untrammeled womanhood." Susan B Anthony
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06-21-2010, 06:17 PM #6
Don't worry, be happy!
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The famous Fisher-Williams loop, and the IMBA Epic Loon Lake, both in Idaho, burned in the big fire storms of 2005 and 07. A good portion of the wild land in Idaho burned in 05 and 07. Yes, it's terribly tragic: mismanaged forests (total suppression) combined with drought, plus an ever expanding urban/wildland interface ( read, everyone wants their nice little home in the woods) makes for all sorts of fire tragedy. Forest burn hotter and more severely than if the fires had not been suppressed for 100 years, home get burned, and yes, trail systems get burned up.
The forest has an amazing recovery system. Within 6 months after a severe burn, plants and wildlife return. Within two years, typically the only visible damage is burned snags. The only exception is when a fire is so hot ( from years of suppression) that is sterilizes the ground and makes it void of plant life and prone to severe erosion.
So ya it's a real bummer, but nature has a good way of recovering. As for the rest of it, that's why we buy insurance, and practice keeping a fire perimeter cleared around our houses, right?
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