Smoke in Colorado

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Model T Ford Forum: Forum 2012: Smoke in Colorado
Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Huson, Berthoud, Co. on Tuesday, August 21, 2012 - 11:20 pm:

A couple of us drove up trail Ridge last Friday. I could not believe the amount of smoke that is up that high. It has been smoky for days down here at Berthoud but I didn't think it would be that smoky in the mountains. I hope you can see the smoke in the pictures. At first the weather stations were saying that the smoke was coming from the Cle Elum, Washington but now they are saying its coming from San Diego, Calif and Idaho as well as Cle Elum.

longs peak

You can see how clear it is here normally. This picture above was taken from my bedroom window.

Now you can not even see the mountains. The pictures below were taken Friday at Rainbow Curve. I will also show a picture of how clear Rainbow Curve is normally.

Rainbow Curve 1

Rainbow Curve 1

Rainbow Curve normaly


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Paul Mikeska, Denver CO on Tuesday, August 21, 2012 - 11:31 pm:

I work in downtown Denver. The last few days you can only see the outline of the mountains that are about 15 miles away.

Paul


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Tuesday, August 21, 2012 - 11:32 pm:

Thanks for the news pix, Dave.

In 2002, the USFS had 53 aerial tankers on contract. Today they have just 9.

wildfiretoday.com


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Button III (Chip), Lake Clear, NY on Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - 12:31 am:

Sorry about the bad view from your bedroom!!! HaHaHa!!


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Royce in Dallas TX on Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - 06:32 am:

The aerial tankers are part of the problem. Before man decided to inhabit the high deserts and sparse dry forests on the sides of mountains there were wild fires that burned away entire mountainsides, removing old dry brush and dead trees, allowing new growth to replace the old firewood.

Now that homes are located among the dead trees and brush we use expensive and high tech methods to halt nature's cleansing process temporarily. You can only keep the fires away for so long, inevitably they will do their job. There's never going to be a good result from this that satisfies nature and man.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Steve Jelf, Parkerfield KS on Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - 08:32 am:

What Royce said, plus. A hundred years of fire suppression has built up such a supply of fuel (dead wood) that what once were fires are now firestorms.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By George Button III (Chip), Lake Clear, NY on Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - 09:20 am:

Up here in the Adirondack Mts. the state of NY has purchased so much land and deemed it "Forever Wild". The problem is that no logging will be done, no more fire roads, and no more use of any kind shall occur. The amount of dead, dry fuel on the forest floor in unbelievable. From blow down and ice storms to mother nature herself, we face the possibility of a massive forest fire, and no immediate means of controlling or attempting to control it. I cringe when I hear of these fires out west, thinking of what one would do here.
I do agree with Royce and Steve that the natural process has been altered and the best thing that could happen would be a big fire, I just shudder at the thought of it.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - 09:22 am:

How much worse would the fires in Texas have been last year without aerial suppression?

The pine boring beetle has made formerly safe forests vulnerable to fires. If there's any structural wood in your house, you are part of the problem. Before logging, tree density was about 100 per acre. Re-planting is about 1000 per acre. WildfireToday.com

Now, if we could only reverse global warming...


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Fred Dimock, Newfields NH, USA on Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - 09:41 am:

Ralf - To reverse global warming you just get a BIG air conditioner. :-)


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Dave Huson, Berthoud, Co. on Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - 09:47 am:

Good morning, lots of smoke again today. Not only are more and more people building in the mountains they are so in love with trees that you can see where they have limbs touching their houses. Not only that but so many of them do not clear any brush from around their houses.
In and around Nevada County in California Mazanita is the most common bush. I believe that it is the toughest wood in the US. It is so tough that an axe won't touch it. I remember my Uncle using black powder blowing it out of the ground to clear his land. It often grows 12 feet tall and no one can get through it to clear a fire line so even a SMALL FIRE will burn peoples property.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - 09:48 am:

The Koch Bros hired a GW skeptic scientist at some university to disprove its existence. After two years, he concluded it's real, and all man made.


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Norman T. Kling on Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - 11:04 am:

The fires in San Diego county are out and have been out for about a week. There, however is a large fire burning east of Redding. Redding is more in line with Colorado if you were to travel directly east. I am not sure what direction the wind is blowing from Redding, but I would think your smoke was coming from there.
Norm


Top of pagePrevious messageNext messageBottom of page Link to this message  By Ricks - Surf City on Wednesday, August 22, 2012 - 11:20 am:

I don't know the exact NOAA link:

http://wildfiretoday.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/08/Wildfire-smoke-map-636-pm-MT -August-18-2012.jpg


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