smoke on the water

[ironymaiden]

we only had one camping trip scheduled for this summer, and the NPS just shut down the campground. i'm feeling crushed. i needed that time in the woods. (we're making alternate plans with the camping group, but it's just not enough.)

there's a completely uncontrolled forest fire.* highway 20 is closed. even if they did magically manage to contain the fire before our reservation was to start, it still would be too hazardous.

this is an annual trip, and one of the things i've enjoyed over the years is that Colonial Creek reworks the landscape a bit every winter as storms send rocks and trees down the mountain. well, the landscape will definitely be different next year. i love the water, and i can always see the beauty in the signs of destruction and disruption from the creek. burnt landscapes just make me feel sick. i'm trying not to think too hard about it, but the last update i read said that they may not have the fire contained until October.

the area isn't just a beautiful park, it's also the home of about 30% of Seattle's electric power generation. i'm worried about the workers at the hydro plants, and i'm also worried about what happens to us in the city if it becomes too dangerous to keep them operating or the fire destroys transmission infrastructure. good times, good times






*permalink to today's version of the wiki page on it.

Comments

[ithiliana]

I'm so sorry--we're in Bellingham, so have been following the news about the Sourdough fire which, the last article I saw (about evacuating people) was that it was not yet contained.

Terrifying.

Our county is currently at severe drought--there's some chance of rain in the next day or two, but some city's public wells went dry.

[ivy]

Commiseration right back at you -- canyonwren and I were going to try hiking Sourdough this year (I have its name written on one of my training weights) and now we are... not. I'm so sorry about your hiking plans. Living in a fire ecology is fucking heartbreaking.

[umadoshi]

I'm sorry. :( That's so scary and sad.

[varina8]

I'm so sorry. I hope you can find an alternative that gives you a similar blast of nature and peace.

[flexagon]

Ugh yeah... there's a big fire less than 4 miles from my dad's place in Montana, too. Fire season is somehow getting worse and worse. Doesn't seem like that can possibly happen forever...