It's been an unusually dry winter, even by Southern California standards so I guess our fire season started early this year. For those of you who have never seen a California wildfire up close and personal, they are frightening things. Flames towering hundreds of feet in the air and they can move across a ridge at freeway speeds - literally. You can feel the heat from them miles away and they generate their own weather, heavy winds that help them move even faster. And, do they ever burn HOT! Back when I was working in television news, my crew covered a fire and I went into what used to be the garage of a house that had been destroyed. Inside of that garage were the molten remains of a Craftsman tool set, melted into the cement on the floor. Not much else left.

Well, they are back again, not as bad as last fall (cross your fingers, knock on wood, pray to your diety if you have one), but still threatening a lot of homes and still as frightening as ever. So far though, they've been pretty well contained, a few homes lost and that's not good for the people who lived in those homes, but it could be one whole hell of a lot worse. Thanks to our firefighters who are putting in 16-18 hour days and working 9-10 days straight with no end in sight, the fires are being pretty well kept at bay. Today while I was on the freeway I saw a group of firetrucks race by and on the side of them it said, "Yuma Fire Department". Now, there ain't no Yuma that I know about in California, only one of which I'm aware is in Arizona. And, I heard on the news that there are crews in here from as far away as New Mexico fighting these fires.

I decided to post this as a real life reminder to people here in these difficult times about what Americans can do when faced with a challenge. We get together on something and we can do some pretty remarkable things.

Colorado's largest wildfire, Hayman, started on June 8, 2002. The date is burned into my memory, as I turned fifty years old two days later. The very spot the fire started is locked into my memory, because I had camped there before and visited the site (a fire ring) a year after the fire. The circumstances that started the fire, according to official record now, were pathetically human: A forest service worker burned a nasty letter from her estranged husband. The flames got out of hand. Terry Barton is now serving her sentence in prison for starting a fire that destroyed many homes and charred about 135,000 acres.

Hayman burned uncontrollably for weeks, pushed on by strong winds through exceptionally dry forests. Even areas that had been treated with controlled burns went up. It started near Lake George and did not stop until it threatened Denver itself. Had the wind changed to the south, it would have taken out large portions of our little town, Woodland Park. As it was, many people did need to evacuate their homes. Some would learn later that home had become moonscape.

Firefighters established base camp to the east of Lake George. Gigantic helicopters came and went, dropping slurry in attempts to save homes that could be saved. Tanker aircraft did the same, flying in from airbases around Colorado Springs. A plume of smoke drifted over our place from the Painted Rocks area, a few miles to the north and west, choking us and smelling of destruction. I was sure homes were burning just over the hill, but no. We were still safe, packed and ready to evacuate at a moment's notice.

Finally the weather turned cooler, the winds died down. Hayman was contained just before it could jump Rampart Range Road and roar into the southern suburbs of Denver. People returned to their homes or their foundations, the majestic mountain views scrubbed black and raw, lifeless. Rains came and floods came, and earth slides came, wiping out access roads and choking streams.

The helicopters that once carried slurry now carried hay and seed mixtures, dropping this in an attempt to more quickly restore the forest. Winter came. The pure white snow contrasted sharply with the dead, black forest. And in spring, the dropped seed germinated along with Ma Nature's own response to fire -- shoots came up from the roots of aspen and bushes, and native plants that shed fire-resistent seeds.

Some people rebuilt. Most did not, moving on with their losses, appreciating the help given by others. Others whose homes were spared, sold and moved on, their mountain paradises gone, not to return in their lifetimes.

We all suffered the loss of the forests and tried to see some kind of beauty in the miles and miles of standing dead trees, knowing now what living with nature truly means -- never to have that innocence again, the wonder of beauty -- without envisioning the inevitable fire racing through, ravaging the land, sending the life juices of forests into the sky to come falling back as rain, as tears.

But the very worst part of Hayman was that we had someone to vilify: Terry Barton. The death penalty was pushed by some, and can you blame them? They'd lost everything they'd worked for. Others showed mercy and wanted her to be sentenced to cleaning up the mess she created. And what she got was a number of years in prison, to be unproductive and a burden, to be idled into self-flagellation and stagnation. News reports come out every now and then about how she's doing. Still some think she got off too easy.

For burning a hate letter, and the flames got out of hand.

Yes, people pulled together and displayed the stuff that makes humanity worth preserving. Others showed how, if we were to be wiped from the face of the earth, not a tear would by shed by Ma Nature. Nope, not for that kind of fire, the rage of human hatred for each other, the need to target one and lay blame.

That's what sparked Hayman in the first place. Even the best and most valiant efforts of firefighters could not contain that hellish blaze until Ma Nature cooperated.

We will never forget this lesson, those of us who got it.

This is why we need to thin out the forests. But NO....tree huggers say dead branches and dead trees are good

GoAmerica, thinned forests would not have stopped Hayman. It first spread through dry grasses, headed straight up into the crowns that oozed turpentine (the pine smell you get on hot days around here), and blasted across a paved county road into more grasses, then up the hills. Winds from 30-60 mph pushed this thing.

Here's an op-ed piece on one of the reasons wildfires are more common now that the mountains have been settled:

Cheat Grass, Invasive Species

As stated before, the thinned forests didn't have a chance against Hayman either. Governor Owens proposed that we clear-cut forests (!) to save them, since thinning doesn't work either.

Well. So what to do? Only one of two things: live with the danger knowing that everything could be lost, or clear cut enough around the shack so it might have a chance. There's no guarantees though. I've seen metal-roofed structures that burned even though hundreds of yards from the forest.

Judging from Purdy's take on this -- she's been working with the USFS since before Hayman -- human presence in the mountain forests have changed the ecosystem to be more dangerous for wildfires. Guess we just live with that realization.

Close, but not really. The forests DO need to be thinned. The "tree-huggers" are protesting the loss of old growth that thinning requires to pay for the projects. It is a tough one to call. I do not want to see anymore old growth cut down, but I understand the need to generate income to fund the thinning process. The "tree-huggers" understand that the Old Growth trees survive fires, but will never survive being cut down.

But you are right on the money with the need for thinning. Years of suppressed logging, and intense fire prevention, have left an enormous amount of FUEL in the woods. Dead, dry, stacked like matches, trees eagerly awaiting to burst into hot, fast spreading flames.

We have been fairly lucky in Oregon this year. Our boys have put out every lighting fire so far, but it is dry, and we are going to burn. But it is the nature of nature. Fire is good for the overall health of the forest, and needed for some species of trees. But with the amount of downed fuel in some areas, the heat generated can scorch the earth 2 feet down. Nothing grows back for decades when this happens.

Stay tuned. I am sure that I can post some pictures here before the summer is over.

Be safe.

I've been watching the new California fires with dread, knowing that this fire season has barely started. Some distant cousins of mine live in Canyon Country, and they were briefly evacuated. As far as I know, they've been allowed to return to their homes.

Most of these fires are caused by human intervention, whether by intent, carelessness, or stupidity. Very few fires start from "natural" causes. So, GoAmerica, "thinning out the forests" isn't going to affect an arsonist, or a bonehead burning something in an area where he/she shouldn't be.

AuthorMusician, I remember that fire vividly-it seemed like the whole state of Colorado was on fire. Wasn't Barton a Park Ranger, or something similar? I seem to recall something about "hero complex" (where someone starts a fire so they can put it out and be a hero), or was that some other arsonist?

I've never understood the antipathy toward "tree-huggers"...trees provide the oxygen for us to breathe...everyone ought to hug a tree!

Hey Aquilla- I was just thinking about this and am glad you decided to post a reminder. I think it was yesterday I saw a news clip of the fires, shot by someone who was too close for comfort. Without being there I could feel fright that one would experience. My thoughts are with the Californians and Nevada residents (is there a name they call themselves?)

Must...not...reply...with...sarcasm...but...losing...self-control......
Yes, the term for Nevada residents is "gamblers". Hmm...hopefully Mrs. P doesn't see this post.

As a young pup, I lived in LA and have to say that I've seen a number of brush fires up close and personal. It seems like almost every year during late summer and fall that the air is dense with soot and ashes. And fires do move at tremendous speed. Since So. Cal. fires are brush fires, there is no thinning you can do. There is only one rainy season -- winter -- and then it's dry for the rest of the year. More and more people are moving into the hills; it seems most housing is simply not designed to withstand even a modest burn.

Here in the Bay Area, we get fires similar to So. Cal. In fact, one guy in the Oakland hills had his house incinerated. He then built a structure completely out of concrete. Two or three years later another fire passed through. His house was the only one standing and it was virtually unscathed. Which brings me to my rant....

When building in areas known for "acts of God" at regular and predictable intervals such as flood plans and severe fire hazard, it seems to me that you should forfeit at least some FEMA aid when the disaster comes. Unless you build a home out of, say, concrete, you are running a known, quantifiable risk well in excess of the norm.

I was thinking the same thing. But, I think the proper term is "Nevadans". Really. After all, I don't think everyone gambles in NV....do they?

Rodeo-Chideski here in AZ. If you got Yuma Aquilla then they are already playing roll the dice gamble with the crews. Arizona is once again bone dry and the fire season for the west started way early this time since August is usually when it really bad.
Go America is almost right, but like most kind of forgets that forest thinning is usually an excuse to clear cut. However the so-called environmentalists out there have helped create forests that resemble the staging area for dante's inferno. As a moderate interested in a viable solution I'd love to gather both factions and ship them out into the desert.
I wonder Aquilla if you have heard any rumors to the effect that some of these fires are suspicious. As I mentioned although not unheard of, fire season came early this year and the forest thinning issue is literally just as hot as the fires.

There is a lot of discussion about the problem of people building homes in the hills here in LA and it's a very similar situation to that in Oakland. Narrow, winding streets, difficult for fire crews to get to them. The most effective way to fight a fire in those hills is by air and that brings me to a pet peeve.

Several years ago, a Canadian aircraft company, Canadair came up with an absolutely brilliant design for a fire bomber. It's called a 'Super-Scooper. It's a little smaller than a C-130, but what it can do is refill literally "on the fly". They make their drop then skim over a large body of water and scoop up their next load. It saves a tremendous amount of time since they don't have to land and refill their tanks. That means many more drops per hour which makes for effective fire-fighting. Anyway, Canadair went to Los Angeles County and made a deal with them. They would lease 3 aircraft to LA County for a dollar per year so LA County could evaluate the airplane as a fire bomber and hopefully for Canadair, decide to buy some. Initially, believe it or not, LA County turned down the offer! No clue on why other than the abject stupidity on the part of LA County politicians. They claimed it was because the aircraft wasn't on the "approved list" of the US Forest Service. Uh, hello??? That's because it was a new airplane and not appropriate for use in a lot of areas of the US because of a lack of large bodies of water to "scoop" from. LA has the largest body of water in the entire world at it's doorstep. We call it the Pacific Ocean. LA was the perfect place to test this airplane out.

Luckily, once this information made it to the people of Los Angeles, enough of us raised hell with LA County that they eventually reversed themselves and took the offer. The airplane performed magnificantly! Those planes could drop water on a fire so quickly and often that they darn near drowned a fire engine company in the Hollywood Hills. But, the abject stupidity remained..... LA County never actually bought any and instead we lease them every year for fire season.

Well, it isn't fire season right now, except we have fires and those airplanes are in Canada and won't come down here until after Canada's fire season is over. So, we are stuck without one of our most effective fire-fighting tools until later on this year. It sure seems to me that with all the money LA County throws away we sure could have afforded to buy a few of our own airplanes.......

Edited to add.......

Christopher, at least one of the fires is suspected arson. You are right, they are rolling the dice and hopefully it will work out. I do know that if y'all in Arizona do get into fire trouble you can look for the Los Angeles fire crews to be beating a path out there to help out.

Personally I'll take a few wildfires now and then to actually be able to enjoy nature and breathe clean air. Not everyone prefers the concrete jungle.

Also the wildfires, in California anyway, mostly start because So Cal gets so little rain and things really start to dry out in the spring and summer. It has absolutely nothing to do with tree density or "dead" trees. There also aren't a whole lot of forrests per se in So Cal, it is mostly dense brush. I don't know, I could be slightly off on that last part, but that is all I remember seeing and given the lack of rainfall it would make sense.

DaffyGrl,

Barton was actually part of a fire-fighting team with the USFS. When news broke that she was suspected of starting Hayman, it sure hurt. One of our own and so forth. That she might have started the fire to put it out and thereby be a hero was speculated, but no evidence of this ever came up. She did attempt to control the fire at first and called in once she became aware it was out of control.

Then she lied about how the fire started. Later on she confessed. It's a pretty lame story -- so probably true. How stupid we can be, especially when upset with a spouse. My own suspicion is that her husband actually started the fire out of spite, after confrontation near the fire ring. At least that's the way I'd write it for A&E

Think one of the Arizona fires from that year was started by a firefighter to drum up business. Guess that makes sense on some level, a very low one.