Terrible smoke in Yosemite valley from Ferguson fire!

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Originally Posted by Sal Santamaura

I suspect the best thing for the valley, long term, might be a fire completely out of control that incinerates everything combustible in it. None of us, or your children (I have none), are likely anxious to accept that, but your grandchildren would greatly benefit.

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Originally Posted by Jac@stafford.net

...Why would that be a good thing?

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Because it would clear from the valley a century's worth of uncontrolled vegetative and human infrastructure growth. A fresh start, much closer to a wilderness area. Just like much of Yellowstone after the massive 1988 burn.

Good for the valley itself. Not good for those alive today or their adult children.

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Originally Posted by Sal Santamaura

Because it would clear from the valley a century's worth of uncontrolled vegetative and human infrastructure growth. A fresh start, much closer to a wilderness area. Just like much of Yellowstone after the massive 1988 burn.

Good for the valley itself. Not good for those alive today or their adult children.

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Now I get it. Thanks.

They do routine control burns on the Valley floor. I am always amazed and amused at the profusion of conifer seedlings that pop back up in the fertile Valley soils!

Valley Floor (after control burn) Two 4x10 platinum/palladium prints

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Originally Posted by Vaughn

They do routine control burns on the Valley floor...

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Yes, and those burns are designed to clean up the duff in order to guard against crowning fires. In #19 I was referring to a massive crowning fire that would clear out all the mature trees as well as human infrastructure pollution. A reset for the valley. :)

Lest anyone misunderstand, I was in the valley last December and enjoyed my visit very much. But I've also been there during summer. Any fire that makes the place unattractive to homo sapiens for the better part of a century would, in my view, be a positive occurrence. We've got lots of Vaughn's images to remember it by.

They are also designed to try to keep the meadows as meadows. Tell me before you torch the place -- I am scheduled to give a workshop in the Valley in 2019 and I want to make sure to get my prints out of the gallery, too!

I loved Ed's (Abbey, not Weston) thoughts that National Parks should actually be called National Sacrificial Areas...sacrificed to the visitors so that the wilderness is not trashed. Let them buy their lattes, window decals and see the sites from their automobile in return for staying out of the wilds!

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Originally Posted by Vaughn

...Tell me before you torch the place...

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I have no intention of starting nor would I suggest anyone else start a fire. My musing in #19 referred to a hypothetical lightning-caused blaze that couldn't be contained. :)

There are plenty of beetle killed widow-makers in the valley. When they start toppling it's going to be hazardous.

The native Americans would set fire to the valley every autumn before migrating to winter quarters. They knew what they were doing, lattes or not.

The last report I heard had the fire traveling NE towards the Park!

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Originally Posted by John Kasaian

There are plenty of beetle killed widow-makers in the valley. When they start toppling it's going to be hazardous.

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Backpacking in the Yolla Bollys in June with one of my boys, we saw a dead tree (about 30 feet tall) in a small wet area we were camping at (nicest spring in that wilderness!) My son was greatly puzzled by the tree as it was narrower at the bottom than the top. I pointed to the snag the 'tree' came from!

Also quite common in the redwoods where limbs the size of large trees fall a couple hundred feet and bury themselves in the dirt.