Ketchum area woodlands are burning!

[sunvalleylaw]

http://www.sunvalleyonline.com/news/article.asp?ID_Article=3894
This one has some vid and more details posted by folks on a local blog:
http://blog.sunvalleyonline.com/index.php/dchase/2028

This started near one of my favorite MTB rides (about 24 miles north and west from my home) and has either consumed or is threatening a bunch more, plus possibly homes. I live in Hailey, 12 miles to the south of Ketchum and am not now in harm's way. Heavy winds have been exploding this thing to the east and north, mostly east today. East is bad because of homes and people. It could come pretty close to the old mining town of Ketchum, where the Sun Valley ski hill is (and my office). North is away from people, just into beautiful forest and mountains. This is pretty sad. Pray or send good thoughts to the folks fighting this thing and the folks in harm's way. Thanks guys, Steve

[Spudman]

Too bad. That's some nice country too.

We got hit with one of these bolts just a few days ago too. It burned a few acres near the top of a prime trail just behind my house. They got right on it with bombers and put it out pronto. Then they left a crew up there till after dark.

These storms are raising heck around Idaho. Too bad we can't just have the drought and West Nile we've all come to love so much.

[sunvalleylaw]

Yeah, I know you know the country, as you raced your bike all over it. Here is a link to the official info. It doesn't look so great. I hope it is calm tomorrow.

http://www.inciweb.org/incident/952/

[Tone2TheBone]

*gulp*...there wouldn't be a river there would there?

The Ketchum Release. A nifty little device that is used to carefully withdraw tiny hooks from fish. All you do is slide down the leader into the mouth and the cavity of the device slides into the hook and pushes it out gently. You don't even have to hold the fish to do this...it can stay in the water the entire time. Trouble is keeping the fish still while doing so...especially big ones.

[Robert]

That is terrible. We've had our share of fires in B.C. and Alberta the last few years, especially in B.C.

[Tone2TheBone]

We had a bunch of fires here in the SW a couple of years back. Yes it is very tragic.

[sunvalleylaw]

The winds have been a little better today and last night. It has been dry and very windy with all the torching, leaping scary fire behaviors you hear about. Hopefully they are making better progress on it today. So much depends on the weather.

[Spudman]

This is going to devastate the local spliff crop.:eek: :D

[sunvalleylaw]

http://www.mtexpress.com/index2.php?ID=2005116665

Latest article and chart with timeline. This is a big bummer.

[Spudman]

That's really too bad. Although, that area probably did need a good burn to get rid of all the downfall and snags.

[sunvalleylaw]

Yeah, Shadyside trail, (my most regular "daily break" trail in combination with Lane's trail and Sunnyside. Essentially forms a bowl with trees on the North facing Shadyside side and flowers, grass and sage on the South facing Sunnyside) for biking or running was burned on purpose as part of the back burn. Right now, the worry is the Greenhorn network, my favorite network. To me, it is questionable if they needed to burn Shadyside on purpose, but much is speculation until the smoke clears. For sure, the area would have benefited from what are now viewed as "normal" burns to clear out the forest. Problem is, fire protection and luck kept that from happening until I am afraid the burn that happened is not the normal kind that a forest comes right back from. I doubt my Shadyside ride, that I loved to climb during the heat, will be as shady anymore. I think they may have done it to steer the fire away from town and Baldy. Baldy is way overgrown too, and ripe for a big burn. But, with the cut runs (air channels that would really fan the flames according to my fire chief friend) and lifts, that would be really tragic and who knows what it would do to the local economy. I think the idea with the back burns is to slow the fire in this direction and steer it away back into the undeveloped areas. I doubt they can actually put it out without some help from higher powers. Kind of like when Yellowstone burned in '88. Take anything I say with a grain of salt, I am no expert, and am just saddened it had to happen.

[Brian Krashpad]

Hope it'll come back. Forest fires are a way of life in north Florida. All of Florida really, but I'm in the north.

According to the NY Times:

"Since Jan. 1, nearly 9,500 wildfires have burned about 385,000 acres of Florida forest, swamp and brushland."

[sunvalleylaw]

Oh, it will, eventually. The big old conifers are the ones that take longer and that I will miss. Aspens will come first, then the doug fir and lodgepole pine. They take much longer to grow to shade providing size. I hope some of the larger circumference firs survive. Those are hundreds of years old. Yellowstone, having burned in '88, is really a place to look at to see what will happen. It is very similar in terms of vegetation in many areas. Much is growing there, but the really burned out areas are still pretty sunny, rather than shady forest.

[Spudman]

I hope you got those killer rains that we got today. That should help some...if the lightening doesn't start more fires.

[sunvalleylaw]

Nah, no rain. few wispy clouds and lots of smoke. Might have to dust off my beginner Deep Purple riff. That, or learn some Talking Heads, though no structures have burned yet. My instructor's student band (including me) plans on gigging in Ketchum, air providing, tomorrow night.

[Spudman]

If you are going to do Deep Purple you might as well make it "Stormbringer." Maybe it will bring some rain. :)
We had a regular monsoon today with a heavy artillery barrage and light show. It was spectacular...and soggy.

[sunvalleylaw]

Nah, I'll skip the Deep Purple and stick with the set list. Send us some of that soggy stuff!

[zeusse]

Hope it gets better for you guys over there the weather never seems to co-operate with these things does it:(

[sunvalleylaw]

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/sunvalleylaw/IMG_0427.jpg

http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w92/sunvalleylaw/IMG_0424.jpg
Images from thursday or friday from the top of Baldy. The fence that is in the photo had fire run right up to it or consume it since, I am not sure which. It was probably to the left of the photo, further down the ridge. The fire has run all the way around the Seattle Ridge lodge which was protected, and has gotten near some communications towers and facilities and ski lifts which were also protected. Some rogue wind blew up over the weekend and re-opened this thing, just when they almost had it contained. The seem to be back on it now, but fingers are crossed. Parts of Baldy border town and they need to make sure it stops up on those Baldy ridges.

[Spudman]

Great pictures - tragic stuff. This is making me pretty sad. I'm sure not as sad as you though because it's every day for you. Still...time for a nuisance filter of some sort. You don't need black lung or your college hack back.;) :D

[sunvalleylaw]

Here is a link to some amazing flame pics!

http://www.inciweb.org/incident/pictures/952/