Wildfires in western US

[KMusselman]

devastating:

http://www.boston.com/bigpicture/2012/07/wildfires_in_western_us.html

[Human Larvae]

looks like a pensil drawing, amazing.

[H.H*D.H]

As much as we probably want to, we cannot and will never can control nature, it will only control us.

Some amazing pictures there. That burned kitty makes me sad though.

[Bleak Existence]

amazing and bleak picture indeed

[bitewerksMTB]

One of the most amazing things about wildfires, it they create their own weather including tornados.

Fires could be minimized if firecrews were allowed to do more controlled burns to get rid of all the kindling on the forest floor.

[bitewerksMTB]

I read about Tombstone AZ: first they had the Monument wildfires then mud/boulders slides that destroyed the underground pipes that brought water down & now they're not allowed to bring in anythng but handtools to rebuild the pipes. They couldn't even bring in a fucking wheelbarrow. Tombstone is suing the US Wildlife Service over it.  The Wilderness Act classifies a wheelbarrow as 'mechanized' because it has a wheel! They're worried machinery will destroy the land that has been destroyed by fires/floods/rockslides...

[RyanWreck]

I did some volunteer work with the local forest service and hot-shots clearing "defensible space" near some rich peoples homes who just bitched and bitched about us being there, one dude yelled at us about scratching his BMW while clearing a yard near his home (we didn't do it, there was paint like it got hit by another car he just wanted to sue someone), another lady literally told us to fuck off because we were kicking up dust. With those people we just say "OK" and secretly hope that if a fire does come it tears through their houses and cherished BMW's. When I did this 2 years ago one of the other volunteers fell in a 4 foot hole that had a piece of re-bar in it and punctured his left nut.

[Andrew McIntosh]

"Electric bull and your tennis courts
Pink sports cars and your boats
Getting fried fried fried fried fried fried
By the fire

Windows covered with bars
Floodlights for the yard
It's a pleasure to watch you
Watch it all melt"

Every year in Victoria we have fires, quite often deliberately lit. 2009 was the most ruthless, so far.

[bitewerksMTB]

I've always thought that wildland firefighting would be a cool job but the amount of weight you have to carry & the distance you have to hike with it, is prretty extreme. They hike a long fucking way just to get to some fires. My luck I'd get there then fall into a burning hole.

[Johann]

i agree fully, i would like to test myself against the elements. i've been procrastinating on it for a couple years now, but i'd like to get into it.

[Johann]

i do not have a ton of sympathy for those who choose to live in high risk areas (such as what ryanwreck mentioned) as they truly get what nature has to offer. i remember seeing a pic in a nat-geo of a woman in san diego crying at the gates (which read "Shangri-La") of her burned down palace home and saying she lost EVERYTHING. kinda funny if you think about it.

[RyanWreck]

I've always thought that wildland firefighting would be a cool job but the amount of weight you have to carry & the distance you have to hike with it, is prretty extreme. They hike a long fucking way just to get to some fires. My luck I'd get there then fall into a burning hole.

Do what I did and see if you can do some volunteer work, once you're on and people get to know you then you can easily get involved with a lot more. It's really fun especially if you are a fan of the outdoors. I did it mainly because I wanted to go check out some trails that you can't get to use otherwise and because my Uncle is the day time supervisor of the Forest Service out in my area. I'm going to do it this year as well but not until late Fall and this time I will get to take my ATV with my Uncle and grab water samples from some pretty remote water holes and creeks.