"A tossed cigarette or a kid with a match and a grudge?" It is absolutely terrifying to think that that is all it would take to set entire cities ablaze - just one careless or deranged person. Very timely, Sue.
In the current arid conditions of the Great Basin and SoCal, a spark from a tool, a chain dragging behind a car, is all it takes. I heard yesterday of a CHP noticing nine spot fires starting along the coastal highway. Turned out to be a guy hauling a trailer, and the hitch chain was dragging along the asphalt creating sparks. BTW, drought is a constant condition in SoCal and Great Basin droughts have been known to last 200 years. California is a desert, but is so fertile that with a little water you can grow anything. That's why it looks and becomes so lush.
Powerful poem, Sue! I smelled the smoke, and the wet wood, after the fire was extinguished. The sounds of the children playing, and the silence of their shock, at the loss. Great articles..a different approach is definitely needed. What we are doing is not working. I live in a wooded area in Northern California, and our insurance was pulled, twice. Now we are on a state run plan. It is a big problem. Thanks for the informative articles.
Thanks, Sharron. I'm glad the articles were useful. And I can still feel the spring in those limbs as I jumped on them. It was a great time to be alive.
"A tossed cigarette or a kid with a match and a grudge?" It is absolutely terrifying to think that that is all it would take to set entire cities ablaze - just one careless or deranged person. Very timely, Sue.
In the current arid conditions of the Great Basin and SoCal, a spark from a tool, a chain dragging behind a car, is all it takes. I heard yesterday of a CHP noticing nine spot fires starting along the coastal highway. Turned out to be a guy hauling a trailer, and the hitch chain was dragging along the asphalt creating sparks. BTW, drought is a constant condition in SoCal and Great Basin droughts have been known to last 200 years. California is a desert, but is so fertile that with a little water you can grow anything. That's why it looks and becomes so lush.
Powerful poem, Sue! I smelled the smoke, and the wet wood, after the fire was extinguished. The sounds of the children playing, and the silence of their shock, at the loss. Great articles..a different approach is definitely needed. What we are doing is not working. I live in a wooded area in Northern California, and our insurance was pulled, twice. Now we are on a state run plan. It is a big problem. Thanks for the informative articles.
Thanks, Sharron. I'm glad the articles were useful. And I can still feel the spring in those limbs as I jumped on them. It was a great time to be alive.