Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Northern California fires

Interesting article there Morewood. But I'd argue with the author about the cause of these forests being "environmentalists", or even the primary cause being such. The problems of overgrown forests started long before environmental groups had much say in the matter.

The "Smokey Bear" policy of putting out all fires goes back at least to 1944 when Smokey got started. Might go back even earlier.

( https://www.fs.usda.gov/features/story-smokey-bear )

Sierra Club anti commercial logging on Fed lands wasn't until 1996

( https://forestpolicypub.com/2020/01...d-the-sierra-club-update-its-ecl-policy/ )

The Natural Resources Defense Council didn't get started until 1970

( https://duckduckgo.com/?t=ffsb&q=natural+resources+defense+council&ia=web )

The other thing the author mentions is things like "manzanita" and other things acting as ladder fuels, which is true, but grazing is not going to help that much. Logging neither.

I'll say it again, until there is a concerted effort and a whole lot of money dedicated to getting non merchantable wood and chaparral out of the forests, and getting the public to accept the idea and consequences of controlled burns (smoke in there neighborhoods during times they don't want it and ugly landscapes for a few years) these fires are going to continue, as they have since I was a kid.

They are nothing new, like most other stuff nowadays it's just easier to publicize and make a big deal.

And, because NOTHING MUCH has been done, they tend to get worse every few years, along with the more frequent drought conditions.

Yes, the "Environmentalists" haven't helped things, but as that rancher's story in the thread the other day pointed out, lack of funding is the biggest issue.

More than a few of the dope growers were/are rather conservative. They like their freedom and their money, and would like to keep those things.

The 70-80's dope growers were a different breed than the growers today. When I was a kid there were a bunch of societal dropouts in that part of the country. I haven't been there since 2005 so I'm kind of out of the loop on day to day stuff.

Picture of the Ruth Lake area that shows what the timber looks like in that area.
[Linked Image]

The fire has made it past Hetten Valley and my guess is that it will be in Zenia in a few hours at the rate it's moving. No word on how many structures were lost in the Hetten Valley yet.

Damn I’m thankful I don’t live in California

Geno, You're a nice guy but I gotta say that because it's on the internet, doesn't make it the truth. The Sierra Club was actively obstructing at least as early as 1982. I know, because I lost my job from their activities to stop the Elk Cr Dam, a tributary of the Rogue. They presented legal and phony environmental studies, lied to the court to accomplish it, got the legal challenge changed to the 9th Dist Court of Appeals, which they had packed with their own justices. My brother-in-law's roadbuilding/logging small business was bankrupted by the direct meddling of the Sierra Club. The US Fish & Wildlife service did a survey of the proposed road job, OK'd it, and work started. The Sierra Club privately funded another survey, on the job on private property, and miraculously discovered a "significant spotted owl population". Filed suit in Federal Court in Portland where they had a Sierra Club judge on the bench and got an injunction to stop the job. The landowner couldn't afford to challenge the injunction. The brother-in laws were stuck with a 180,000 bill for work done.
If you want info on the Sierra Club, I don't think a site with their logo and and a donation page is the best possible source. Paul

Paul,

yes, I know their work started before the date their "official policy" was initiated in 1996. I moved to the Humboldt area in the early 90's and they and other groups were already active there.

The point I was making is that the forests all across the West are in screwed up shape from policies, Govt and NGO, enacted long before the majority of "environmentalists" got in the picture, Mostly that damn Smokey Bear "all fire is bad" policy is what caused a majority of the issues we have today. I was specifically countering the points the person in the link Morewood posted.

Yes, the Sierra Club and others were involved in halting, or attempting to halt, projects long ago. But in many cases they were specific and not govt wide as their policy became in 1996. No commercial logging in USFS or BLM areas is about as silly a damn idea as no commercial fishing in the waters of the US of A, and yes, I know of groups that would like to see that stop.

I'll stand by my position that "logging" and road building are a component of getting the forests back to a more balanced state, with fire an actual help to them as opposed to being devastating. But, until we as a society can come to terms with the money it's going to cost to remove scrub oak, ceanothus, sumac, doghair thickets of conifers, greasewood, 20 year old juniper, Scotch broom, and other no-value species, and until we can agree that we're going to have to tolerate some smoke and "ugliness" from controlled burns on a regular basis, these fires are going to continue to happen. Worse during drought periods, somewhat better during wet periods. But they will happen. As they have continued to happen, over and over in the same areas, in my lifetime.

The fire west of Redding started outside the little town of Igo. There are evacuations in west Redding off Placer Rd. Damn.

Agreed...Your last paragraph should be etched in stone as national policy, well spoken.
On another topic, today if NWS forecast is correct, we are sitting on a keg of blackpowder again, East- northeast winds 22 to 26 gusting to 40, predicted relative humidity less than 10%. Jeez, when will it end? Santa Claus is trading in the red outfit for Nomex.

The last I saw on that one (Zogg Fire) it was up to 15,000 acres.

The portion of the August Complex burning over near Hetten I'm still waiting on more info. All kinds of conflicting maps and stuff. What I've heard so far is that it burnt over the North end of Hetten Valley and possibly got over onto Grizzly Mountain, but I'm not sure about that.

Some of that area burned in the Carr fire a couple of years back. Those folks have to be tired of it for sure.

Didn’t know what it was called. Got a text and pics last night from a friend when it started. Her house burned to the ground and she lost everything in the Carr fire. Her anxiety is off the charts. The conditions are terrible. Just damn

Inciweb was updated a few minutes ago. Map does show it across Ruth Lake and over on the ridge to the west. Appears to be in the Van Duzen drainage now.

And yeah, the W and SW areas are approaching Zenia, not far from there now. With the predicted winds today, it might get that little burg.

Geno that sucks. I hunted over there for years. Unreal.

There might not be a Santa Claus if this keeps up, at least not for NorCal.

Hope your place stays safe. Did you cut more firebreak with the dozer last week or two?

My son just got done with the Badger fire in Idaho and is now headed for the August complex fire. I hope the the best for you guys down there.

Ended up with roughly 24 ft wide around the house and shop, and 10 ft swath around the neighbors place when they called off the evacuation...whew. Went up to look at the fire this morning...I hate to say it after all the drama...but in a couple years it's gonna look like prime healthy timberland. Fire mostly burned understory and 90% of the big timber looks good, but I'm no forester, trees may be overstressed and die anyway, that happens.

Heard there was 3 dead in the Zogg fire. Only link I saw with a quick search was the San Francisco Chronicle and I'm not posting a link to them. The wife has a cousin that lives about -34 miles from the East edge of it.

So far I've heard of a few people I know losing buildings in the August Complex, Ruth Rodeo grounds got burned through and the dancehall for sure got burned. I had a lot of fun as a kid at the Ruth Rodeo.
A guy i worked for logging lost one of his bulldozers to the fire, operator made it out though.