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Thread: Smoke smoke everywhere

  1. #161

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    Re: Smoke smoke everywhere

    I'm in Pasadena right now with a clear view of Mt Wilson (observatory & major broadcasting site) in the distance, and watching a line of aero super tankers circling, taking turns dumping, then still circling, probably looking if they missed a hot spot for further drops... I'm too far away to film, not long enough lens, but probably video is online...

    Steve K

  2. #162
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Smoke smoke everywhere

    Mt Hamilton Observatory (or cluster of observatories) barely escaped one of our big fires up here, and I mean by mere yards away. The main telescope is mainly used for just teaching purposes today, because light pollution from the explosive growth of the nearby city of San Jose has rendered it almost useless except for a few wee hours before dawn.

  3. #163

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    Re: Smoke smoke everywhere

    This fire was on Mt Wilson property, and (I missed the details on the radio) affected buildings on the property, including the major sismograph used to monitor earthquakes all over the world...

    The telescope was suffering the same fate as many near urban observatories, but got a new lease on life when it inherited the adaptive optics assembly from the ill fated "Star Wars" military project and remains relevant... The solar observatory is still in almost daily use, as you can see bright flashes of strange colors of reflected sunlight probably bouncing off the edge of what looks like a dichroic mirror that projects the solar image deep underground...

    Then there's all the broadcasting from next to it...

    You could see the big changes to the smoke plumes after the aircraft dumped over them, sorta like the steam after you dump a bucket of water over a campfire...

    At least here, the fire smoke that filters down smells like a campfire, not burnt paint/rubber/fiberglass resin etc, as the fire has not burnt much of man-made materials here...

    Be safe, y'all!!!

    Steve K

  4. #164
    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
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    Re: Smoke smoke everywhere

    It would be a tragic loss if anything should happen to Mt. Wilson. Among the many notable discoveries made there was the Hubble Constant with which Edwin Hubble discovered the expansion of the universe.

  5. #165
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Smoke smoke everywhere

    John K. - the Creek Fire has now overrun Granite Cr and up over the Niche almost to Cora Lks. I imagine the red firs along the 3mi grade up will have been hit hard, and that that section of trail will be dustier than ever. But up on the plateau it will probably just cull out the old deadfall and open up the meadows more. It's also jumped the North Fork of the River to the lower section of Iron Cr, but won't get far in all that bare rock. The grade in between, down to Hemlock Crossing, is red fir zone too, so might be a mess and eyesore. Mammoth Lks is on alert.

  6. #166
    http://www.spiritsofsilver.com tgtaylor's Avatar
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  7. #167
    Helcio J Tagliolatto's Avatar
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    Re: Smoke smoke everywhere

    Smoke from burning in the Amazon reached São Paulo this weekend, 4000 km away. However, unlike what happens on the American West Coast, these are burned on purpose in order to occupy forest areas for agriculture. They always occur on a small scale, but in this government that encourages them, where the Environment Minister says that global warming is communist hysteria, the burning of virgin forests has skyrocketed.
    This image, taken from the balcony of our house, should show an early spring crystal clear sky.

    Click image for larger version. 

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  8. #168
    Tin Can's Avatar
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    Re: Smoke smoke everywhere

    Many in USA and World Wide are worried about the Amazon, we follow much of it

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    Quote Originally Posted by Helcio J Tagliolatto View Post
    Smoke from burning in the Amazon reached São Paulo this weekend, 4000 km away. However, unlike what happens on the American West Coast, these are burned on purpose in order to occupy forest areas for agriculture. They always occur on a small scale, but in this government that encourages them, where the Environment Minister says that global warming is communist hysteria, the burning of virgin forests has skyrocketed.
    This image, taken from the balcony of our house, should show an early spring crystal clear sky.

    Click image for larger version. 

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Size:	53.8 KB 
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    Tin Can

  9. #169
    Drew Wiley
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    Re: Smoke smoke everywhere

    Tom - Interest has spread far and wide about the Creek Fire due to its especially dramatic nature. But I get a bit tired of generic what-if answers and backseat quarterbacking by people who have absolutely no idea of the variety of terrain involved or the history of the area, either natural or human. The explosive "mushroom cloud" nature of the initial big event was basically due to the manner wind currents behave in that extremely deep canyon itself, which, except for a few campgrounds, is almost totally uninhabited. Up above, an unusually high numbers of inexperienced hikers took advantage of Covid-related understaffing of the Forest Service and National Parks to enter without permits, which exacerbated rescue pandemonium.
    As the fire spread toward resorts, the most rapid spread and greatest destruction was actually in areas heavily logged off in both the 1880's and 1960's, which were the most beetle affected. And ironically, the only thing that really stops those beetles now that cold winters are gone is catastrophic fire. Talking about preemptive logging is ridiculous - none of those trees have any commercial value, and thus no financial incentive to log it, and except on the plateaus, most forest is outright inaccessible. Some of these armchair quarterbacks and politicians seem to think it's like a handkerchief suburban yard situation, and all you need is a leaf rake.
    You know all this, of course, as yourself a backpacker with experience in Sierra canyons. What didn't burn (like my home town itself), didn't because the chaparral around it already burned more than once in my own lifetime, and ranching-oriented areas have more experience protecting their property from fire, whereas resort real-estate tends to attract newer buyers unaware of just how extreme the risk can be.
    Further north, where the terrain is gentler, or down in the hills around LA, there's more of a factor of irresponsible sprawling development into the brush, with its inevitable consequences over time. But it's extremely difficult to even legally control that kind of thing; private land laws are almost die-cast to limit regulation except in incorporated cities. And fire resistant houses are a lot more expensive to build, especially when many hill communities now consist or retirees and people otherwise of low income. But the lion's share of land involved is actually under FS and BLM jurisdiction, which is obviously Federal responsibility, and probably taboo giving an opinion about here, given immediate circumstances.
    Last edited by Drew Wiley; 21-Sep-2020 at 15:22.

  10. #170

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    Re: Smoke smoke everywhere

    Good reply Drew.

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