Thursday, December 26, 2024

Mt. Harkness fire lookout in Lassen Park

 


Where Ed Abbey worked for a while during the time he was writing Desert Solitaire.


The interior





What it looks like now after the park service let it burn down during the Dixie Fire.  Their policy is never to try to control a fire once it's in the park.  Not natural, you know, to put the fire out.  



















10 comments:

  1. Same fate with Keller Peak lookout in SBNF, but uphill rapid rate fire front easliy overcame protection efforts. Lots history consumed.

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  2. Yeah the Forest Circus said the same thing when the had a lighting fire near Woodfords in Alpine County. Then the wind changed direction and suddenly a large fire was coming down the hill headed for the town and they had a BIG problem on there hands.

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    1. That fire, the Tamarack Fire, started as a lightning strike that was being 'monitored' as it grew to 25 acres after two weeks. They were "using fire as a management tool" and said it was too dangerous to put people in there, which was a crock. Besides, all it would have taken was a few water drops from a helicopter with a bambi bucket and it would have been out on Day One. Instead, it blew up and burned almost 68,000 aces and caused almost $9 million in damage.

      The Forest Service is a completely dysfunctional organization. It has been for 40 years and it's getting worse, not better.

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  3. and the forest (dis)service here in NM seems like they only do 'controlled burns' on windy days

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  4. I feel like an Eediot. I don't understand how They make decisions. And, I Know They are the experts. So, by definition, they are correct. Right? So I'm dumb.. Just dumb

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    1. Experts? Once read an "expert" defined as "someone who knows everything about a subject, but can't do anything about it". Sounds about right....

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    2. any commentary that starts off with "according to experts" or "the experts say" is a flat out lie.

      Nemo

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  5. It was a beautiful place. I hope they decide to re-build it, using improvements that make their stay more enjoyable.

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  6. National Parks were a good idea in the beginning.
    Now they are nothing but a giant land grab scheme.
    Watch the Northern Forest here in Maine over the next ten years.
    They've effectively shut down the timber industry by eliminating all the paper mills, giving no outlet for low grade trees, which are left to rot or become a fire hazard.

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  7. Same thing with the Core of Engineers and rivers. Instead of a few obstacles in the river to divert the flow, they'll let the river eat away the approaches to a major river bridge and then build a new bridge at our great expense since it doesn't cost them a thing.

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