> Speaking of the desert, my beloved riding grounds is now a smoldering
> ruin,
> and the fire is still spreading here at Hanford. I'm sure that
> before it
> recovers enough to once again ride on, the BLM will have it closed off
> forever, so I don't think I'll ever get to ride out there again. I'm
> really
> kind of bummed about it. The Arid Land Ecology Preserve is half
> destroyed.
> I was watching the CH-47 Chinook helicopters dip their tanks in the
> Columbia
> River all day today, making passes at the fire, and a fixed wing
> aircraft
> spraying fire retardant. Pretty depressing stuff.
>
> I emphathise with you. It is always a terrible shame when a beautiful
> area is lost. Forest burning is a natural phenomenon that the forest
> uses to replenish itself. Unfortunately, unreasonable restrictions on
> land usage have caused an overgrowth of both trees and the tinderous
> undergrowth, which results in fires much larger than they should be.
> We all know the groups responsible for this, so we don't need to
> point the big fingers, but damn, when are they gonna learn? But, I
> digress. I feel for you, and others, my friend. You were fortunate
> enough to live in a gorgeous area and it has been temporarily lost. I
> don't know if it will work, but perhaps you can get some fellow
> riders together to rebuild a trail or two and also replant trees and
> erosion protecting undergrowth. In this way, you may get your riding
> area back quicker, as well as shining a glowing light on the efforts
> of the local bike riders. Just a thought. Anyway, sorry to hear about
> the loss of the area.
>
Oh, I'm sure that the trails that were there are still there. Erosion is a
non-issue out here really, and drifting sand is a bigger hazard to trails,
but that just adds to the fun. (A lot of the time, I would just head
straight across the desert floor.) As for trees, well the biggest trees
were the "Artemesia tridentata" or big sage brush. Granted, some of those
were hundreds of years old, but they will grow back, and probably some of
them will even survive. The desert itself will now be more fertile with the
ash added to the soil.
My big concern is for the ALE, or Arid Land Ecology site, which included
Rattlesnake Mountain, which is the tallest treeless mountain in North
America. The ALE was the only spot of pristine desert left. Now that the
indigenous plants have been burned, the more invasive, non-indigenous
opportunistic plants will move in, like the tumbleweed. (the seeds of which
came over in a wheat shipment from Russia in the 1800's, when they wanted to
grow the hearty winter wheat from the Russian Steppes here.) There was also
a large herd of elk at the ALE, which have now lost a lot of fodder.
Fires happen here in the semi-arid desert steppe land, they happen all the
time and are part of the natural cycle that adds nutrients back to the soil
and keep it from becoming depleted. (This is also important for the forest.
Douglas fir seeds don't even germinate unless subjected to scorching and
ashy soil. And in the Everglades, without fire that area would turn into
solid land and the swamps would be gone forever.) This fire started from a
car crash though, and not from a lightning strike. Also, the fire breaks
that used to be maintained along the highway haven't been for the last eight
years or so, and the fire easily jumped the highway. The desert will come
back, but probably not the same as before, and meanwhile, the BLM will
probably close off the remaining areas I had to ride in.
A really funny story I heard about this. The national media called a local
scientist, concerned about the buildings here at Hanford with the fire.
"Was any radiation released?" they asked him. "Well yes, of course!" was
his answer. "Can you give any estimates on how much radiation was
released?" the smug "I told you so" doomsayer media spokesmouth asked.
"Well, you have to estimate the amount of biomass per acre, then the number
of BTU's per kilogram of biomass, and then multiply that by the total number
of acres burned." was the scientist's answer. People don't seem to
understand that they are subjected to radiation on a daily basis. Right now
you are getting irradiated by your computer screen.
Not to worry, the major buildings built here at Hanford were built to
withstand fire and earthquakes.
Thanks for your kind words, but things aren't as bad as they seem today,
life goes on. I feel really bad for the people out in Benton City and West
Richland who lost homes and barns. (I think I heard that a total of 32
structures were lost.)
Jeff