Shadow, Jar jar, and everyone else in the area..

I hope you and your family are safe from the fires..

Our prayers are with you all... :hug:

California is a classic case of what happens when "conservationists" go crazy trying to preserve every tree in their backyard, every tree in every forest, and every tree in the state.

Nature is not so sympathetic. Nature knows when things are out of balance, and it does so by destroying everything and starting over. It's too bad a lot of homes get destroyed in the process and so many people get killed. You can blame nature and the wood-rot beetle, and you can blame the "greenies", who can't quite grasp the fundamental concept that living "in harmony with nature" requires forest management skills, not just "leave it alone" conservation. Bet you a dollar that 10 years from now, the same thing will happen, just like it did 12 years ago. When will they learn.

I was struck by a news feed that showed a California home owner trying to hose down his roof with water from a garden hose. His house was totally surrounded by trees. Instead of cutting the trees down to save his house, his brilliant strategy was to put water on his roof. Too little too late. By now, his wet roof, along with the house under it and every tree surrounding it, are history. He was totally oblivious to the fact that several tons of fire fuel were inches from his home. I hope he enjoyed those trees while he had them.

Conservation requires active and intelligent and harsh management. It has nothing to do with "preserving" everything in sight. We have a similar problem with the deer population in Virginia. For years, the "greenies" demanded that deer hunting be stopped. They were able to curtail a lot of it. Now, there are deer EVERYWHERE, causing traffic accidents and stripping the landscape of everything edible.

Have you ever seen what happens to a deer when it gets hit by an 18 wheeler on I-66? It's the biggest frigging mess you've ever seen. So much for "living in harmony with nature".

I'm ok. I'm right smack in the middle of two of the three fires in San Diego county. It's pretty amazing seeing how my town Poway was mostly spared and others near us were taken. The major fire totally destroyed the neighboring Scripps-Poway which is about a 5-10 minute drive with all the traffic lights. Then it crossed a 12 lane freeway and almost destroyed Miramar (previously the naval air station from Top Gun) and San Diego. The air sucks right now. The first two days, the sky was all brown and black smoke. Yesterday it was just a big white fog/cloud about 100 ft high blotting out the sun.


I got some pictures from the first day/night of the fire. These are from my backyard. My friends got some closer since they live on the other side of town.
dayfire (http://zhang.ziyifilms.com/images/xanga/dayfire00.jpg) dayfire 2 (http://zhang.ziyifilms.com/images/xanga/dayfire01.jpg)
nightfire (http://zhang.ziyifilms.com/images/xanga/nightfire00.jpg) nightfire 2 (http://zhang.ziyifilms.com/images/xanga/nightfire01.jpg)


Everyone here knows about fire prevention management but not everyone does anything. And the people know that wood shingle roofs are bad, and then you see on the news how the wooden roofed house are the only ones to burn down. It just takes that one person that does nothing to get the whole neighborhood burned down.

It's the whole California mutual fire aid that killed SD (but it's also helping us now). All of our firefighters and air support was up north fighting another fire. We couldn't get them back until they were released.

And I think colleges and schools are going to be closed the entire week because the air is so bad.

Man, SHADOW. That night shot looks like panic city to me. Makes me an instant fan of gravel landscaping.

Nice pool! It's a good source of water should you need it.

Unfortunately, Man has NOT been living ‘in harmony’ with Nature for about 10,000 years now. We see evidence of that all over the globe, in various forms.

Deer overpopulation out of control – man’s hunting of, and near extinction of, deer’s main predator, the gray wolf. Recent reintroduction of the wolf into the Yellowstone Park has produced some good results – as well, of course, some backlash from ranchers in near proximity.

An attempt to reintroduce the wolf into some of the areas in Eastern USA has been met with resistance and fear – I suspect the ‘vehicle-deer’ encounters will hence continue.

Forest fires have always been a part of Nature, and Nature has its own ‘band-aid’ in healing the ‘wound’ – starting with the least demanding plants/organisms, and adding ‘layers’ of increasingly more diversified fauna and life, until a maximum attainable ecological balance is reached. The maximum degree of diversity will of course vary greatly, depending on what that particular area can support.

It is also unfortunate, but true, that a percentage of the forest fires is caused by man’s own negligence, as well as outright arson. The urban sprawl into the areas currently in flames only adds in itself, as the traditional small-scale controlled burning of old brush etc. has been reduced or eliminated in many areas, due to homeowners complaints about pollution it creates, and the fear of ‘escaped’ fires (feel free to correct me…if otherwise).

However tragic the California fires are, we have a lot more serious problems ‘brewing’ on a global scale – but that is beyond the scope and intent of this forum.

P.S. shadow, those are scary pics. I wouldn’t stick around…

CG

Yah. That pool could come in handy. Find your snorkel and keep it handy.

We don’t have fires like that around here. In Oregon we don’t have that Santa Anna wind. We have fires, but not like that.

Once I was flying out of LA and there was a huge fire SW of the City. The day I left it was 112 F and bone dry. Somebody lit the fire. Catastrophe!

Virg: I think as we find out about nature, we have more success living with nature. Conservation isn’t bad as long as we learn from it. The Rape of Mother Nature is no better than alienating her. Get those cracked and worn hiking boots out of the closet and pay her and her little friends a visit.

Don’t be so negative. Our little doe-eyed friends lend us a sense of wonder at the beauty of nature. Some might say...Z is a little doe-eyed wonder. What do you think?

Doe-eyed wonders don't belong plastered on the front grill of a Kenworth. Deer need to be managed as well, which includes harvesting them to control their populations. Harvesting means hunters. Hunting means killing.

Mankind has put wildlife in the crosshairs of resource competition. You can't manage the welfare of animals that have been forced into smaller and smaller habitat areas by ignoring them for the sake of mis-guided sympathy. Either the 18 wheeler will get them or a hunter's 30.30 will. "Leaving them alone" is simply a death sentence on a lonely highway somewhere in the middle of the night.

I used to work in Clarksburg, West Virginia and would travel I-79 every morning on my way to work. I would get on at Exit 121 and off at Exit 124. That portion of highway, along with many other exits on I-79, is literally painted red with deer blood. The place is a slaughterhouse of deer carcasses. About a dozen bite the dust EVERY night in that small 3 mile section of highway.

In the summer, you have to hold your nose and do your best to keep from hurling at the sight of all that carnage. Their little doe-eyed faces don't look so cute anymore when reduced to 2 dimensions. The carnage works both ways. What's the number one cause of highway fatalities in West Virginia? Well, it isn't drunk driving, that's for sure.

It is unfortunate, but the 'Bambi' syndrome is much too prevalent. We tend to judge too much on the basis of 'cuteness' -- hence save the deer...and kill the wolf (traditionally, that is - that's why we have this mess now).

Until, or rather, if, the wolves are ever reintroduced into the areas, and if they manage to control deer population within limits, to where it should be..until then, unfortunately, it falls under man's stewardship to manage it (inasmuch I hate to say it). Of course we could just let Nature take its course, and eventually the deer population will plummet, once its food becomes scarce.

CG

Originally posted by CastleGuard
P.S. shadow, those are scary pics. I wouldn’t stick around…


they certainly know how to have fires over there in california.
"ya all take care, hear"

Originally posted by Brainchild
Some might say...Z is a little doe-eyed wonder.

jar jar bc..........that brought a tear to my eye:love: :crying:

http://www.ziyifilms.com/zpost/data/525/4ziyiwallpaper1.jpg

Do we destroy nature because we fear nature? How would Dr. Phil respond to that?

Shadow. Howcome California is afire in the middle of winter?

Hiding behind a rainbow's wall,
Slipping and sliding
All along the water fall, with you
My doe-eyed girl,
You my doe-eyed girl.

Do you remember when we used to sing,
Sha la la la la la la la la la la te da
:love:


re: winter-california-fire.

hay jar jar bc, they say it never rains in california
or is it just generally as we are told in Kiwiland that "anythings possible in the states"

Well San Diego hasn't had rain for +180 days. We just had santa ana winds (very dry, strong winds) this past weekend. It's still +90 degrees outside when the sun is visible. It's never winter in southern California.

Add to that the arsonists in LA and the lost hunter (probably hunting for Bambi's dad :D) here in SD who lit a signal flare in a forest and all of soCal will go up in flames.

Originally posted by joy
Shadow, Jar jar, and everyone else in the area..
I hope you and your family are safe from the fires..


:worry: be careful please

Originally posted by Gaz
that brought a tear to my eye


and so it should
:agree: :laugh:

[/IMG] http://www.ziyifilms.com/zpost/data/500/6010214.jpg

Glad you're doing just fine. I hope this will be over soon for all of you. :D

Those wildfires are a several hundred miles away from where I live. I'm really starting to worry about them too :( I hope that all goes well in California and that it finally RAINS. That's what we need now, rain.

Originally posted by princessmoonbeam

and so it should
:agree: :laugh:

[/IMG] http://www.ziyifilms.com/zpost/data/500/6010214.jpg

thats a variation on my fav:D
such a happy girl:agree: and so cute:love:

fires in CA,
and Z lights a fire in my heart:bow:

I love that smile.... :D

Originally posted by CastleGuard
It is unfortunate, but the 'Bambi' syndrome is much too prevalent. We tend to judge too much on the basis of 'cuteness' -- hence save the deer...and kill the wolf (traditionally, that is - that's why we have this mess now).
CG

STORY: National deer problem costing 1.1 billion a year (http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=519&ncid=519&e=33&u=/ap/20031105/ap_on_re_us/traffic_accidents_deer_1)

“problem?”

http://www.ziyifilms.com/zpost/data/525/4ziyiwallpaper1.jpg

I'm not one to confuse Ziyi as a deer in my headlights. Frankly, I think my car would stop on its own if she ever appeared in traffic.

The deer I'm talking about have 4 legs and end up killing about 150 people a year. There is just no way to harmonize Bambi with a turnpike, no matter how cute they are.