Fire on the Whole

In the past few days, friends and family have checked in at a higher rate than usual.  Along with wanting to know that I am safe (which I am), they want to know "what is going on?"  Well.  From what I can see, it isn't hard-right (or hard-left) politics, sabotage, al-anon, arson, militia activity, antifodder, or any other conspiracy.  (Though it seems like everything in the world has to be about one of them these days.)  It isn't even good management, bad management, or no management.  From what I can tell, the whole story has three components:  No rain for 120 days, high winds, and dry lighting.

Hawk Heaven

I was out in the Parowan Valley when I noticed this pair of hawks guarding the entrance to an alfalfa field.  They didn't fly away when I drove up, so I stopped to see what they were doing.  Taking a shower?  We've not had a wetting rain in more than 100 days, so I guess it makes sense to sit in the sprinklers.

One Eighth

With two houses needing fuel for the wood stove, my preseason calculation is 16 loads.  Sixteen truck loads of wood:  Eight for The Homestead and eight for 420 Grand.  Actually, I didn't burn all my 2019/2020 wood at 420, so I probably don't need as much this year.  In any case, I got started on the Utah portion of the task this weekend.  I had located a large, dead and down, ponderosa between town and Yankee, so I went there and began cutting.  What I soon realized (something I should have known) was that the wood had not cured and that each round weighed 200 lbs.  I could not lift the pieces into the truck.  So, I cut a load of branch wood (above) and took that to town.  I returned with a maul and a momma.  Which is to say that I broke the rounds into five or six pieces, and then VSO helped me load it (below).  It was back breaking work, but she did much of it.  She is stronger than she looks.

Smoked Sheep

This week we're smoking sheep.  Actually, the sheep are smoking us.  The Sheep Fire made it most of the way to town last night.  And then spent the day filling the valley with PM2.5.  The current air quality index is 204, which rates as "very unhealthy."  What was it I said?  I'd rather have a smoked lamb in front of me than the smoke from a lamb ruining the air quality.

A Deeper Shade of Green

The Hog Fire burned about 3,000 acres of the National Forest.  Like most wildfires, at least half of that total acreage experienced low to no severity burning; the rest was moderate to high.  In the latter areas (like the one pictured), there is usually 100% mortality of above-ground vegetation.  The roots, however, survive, and they immediately begin to sprout.  Willow, aspen, oak, choke-cherry.  These are all sprouters, and you will be surprised at how quickly they pop-up.  In these pictures, though, we're in the green line again:  A little ephemeral channel that began growing wetland grasses within a few days of the fire.