The West Is Burning

Grab your bear can or camp chair, kick your feet up and chew the fat about anything Sierra Nevada related that doesn't quite fit in any of the other forums. Within reason, (and the HST rules and guidelines) this is also an anything goes forum. Tell stories, discuss wilderness issues, music, or whatever else the High Sierra stirs up in your mind.
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balzaccom
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The West Is Burning

Post by balzaccom »

Well, not right now. But that's the title of an excellent documentary we just watched on PBS. And it's available via streaming right here: https://www.westisburning.org/

It combines the outlook of forestry professionals, environmentalists, local communities, and loggers to tell the story of where we are right now, and what we have to do to get to where we want to be in terms of making our forests, and ultimately our communities, safer.

One of the reasons it really hit home is that much of the fire footage and some of the interviews are from people in Sonoma County, just over the hills from where we live. And we know both the people and the communities.

Despite the horrific impact of fires over the past few years, this film has actually given us a little hope that we might be able to turn this whole thing around. And that's a very nice feeling.
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rlown
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Re: The West Is Burning

Post by rlown »

I sure hope we aren't going to burn this Summer. Might ruin a good Fall season.
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Re: The West Is Burning

Post by balzaccom »

From your lips to God's ear, Russ
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Re: The West Is Burning

Post by balzaccom »

KCRB in Santa Rosa is showing it at 8 o'clock tonight....if you're in that area.
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Re: The West Is Burning

Post by Wandering Daisy »

I heard that Mendicino and another county up there are now declared drought emergencies. We just came back yesterday from the coast and the area from Mendicino Lake to Clear Lake is really dry. The docks on the lakes are high above the water level. Monday there was a fire on the road from Willits to Ft Bragg. The coast ranges seems to be unusually dry this year.
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Re: The West Is Burning

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Marin is the other drought county
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Re: The West Is Burning

Post by Wandering Daisy »

My daughter lives in San Anselmo and she said the reservoirs are nearly empty. It is a little bit self-inflicted as they sold some water for some salmon restoration project- probably not the best timing. Going up I-5 the fields also looked really dry. I hope they get a bit of rain later today and tomorrow.
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Re: The West Is Burning

Post by dave54 »

Looking at the YTD fire figures for California.
5 year average acres YTD is 2870
2020 YTD acres 1166
2021 YTD acres 3531.

2020 was below acres and # of fires until the August lightning storm. That one storm (and the dry cold front/wind event that followed it) made the year record setting. As you can see, 2021 is well ahead of last year already.

If you want to read the analysis for May to August:
https://gacc.nifc.gov/oncc/predictive/o ... k_NOps.pdf
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Re: The West Is Burning

Post by rlown »

This drought is gonna screw September.. Again.. Might have to do Trinity if it doesn't burn.
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Re: The West Is Burning

Post by Wandering Daisy »

If it gets bad here, I am headed to Wyoming. They got snow yesterday. Snowpack is looking normal, had been very cold winter, and forecast to be about average precipitation and temperatures for the summer. Last year when I was there, even though no local fires, a few days had smoke blown in from California fires.
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