"Never in the course of human events.....

... has so much damage been done by well meaning folks who thought they were doing the right thing!"

This timeless quote from my Dad, Austin, is the perfect title for this midweek entry. Last Thursday, on a windy and hot afternoon, a woman who lives near the Fernwood Park (See the June 17th post) noticed a large amount of loose brush and sticks close to her house and was worried that they could become a fire hazard during this dry season. So, what do you think she did?

She burned them!

Brilliant. Sheer genius.


The view from my roof!

Of course the wind joined in, and inside of 90 minutes 400 acres of scrub oak and trees were aflame. A magnificent fire, which quickly jumped 3 ridgelines and was showing potential to become a very large disaster. But, all good things come to an end, and this fire ended quickly.

Why? RAIN, and lots of it. As I was up on the roof taking pictures of this fire which could be easily seen from my house, I heard the thunder of an approaching storm. And shortly after that, it began to thunder and rain heavily. Talk about divine intervention! Between the rain and the air tanker drops, the fire crews made quick work of the remaining hot spots, and a second large thunderstorm an hour later finished the job. Amazingly, no houses or personal property were damaged!

I suppose this would be a good spot in this entry for an editorial or scathing rant about fire saftey, or how stupid some people can be. But, I think I will leave that to someone else, as enough has already been said in the paper and in the news broadcasts. I will just miss the fall colors that have been burned away!

Yesterday, (9/18), I rode my Barcroft up to Fernwood to see how close the fire came to the campground. I enjoyed a nice walk up the Bonneville Shoreline Trail to take some pictures from some of the burned area.


Almost to the park, but not quite!



It really was sad to see the destruction, although it could have so much worse had the rain and hail not come at such an opportune moment. Now, to watch for the next full season to see how the growth reappears next spring. I'll keep you posted!

Jim