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Milt, apparently even a "bad" trip for you is an inspiration for me. signed - another artist and nature journalist

I have put out several smoldering campfires in wilderness areas that were 10 - 20 steps from water (supposed to be further from water too but that is another issue) They cave the fire ring rocks in on the flames and called it good, I guess. I mean - you have a pot you cooked in to carry water...

according to the campfire permit you are supposed to have a permit, 5 gallons of water and a shovel BEFORE you build a fire

I don't think there is a need to apologize. I've been forced from my home by fire three times now. I've heard people complain: "What's camping without a campfire?" and/or "tell me how many wildfires are started by campfires" etc, ad nauseum. Most of them do not live on the edge of public...

borrowed a beater truck I'd forgotten how to start something that has a carburetor

The recent near freezing temperatures killed the cucumbers and I harvested all the peppers but I am still eating tomatoes from the garden. I think that is going to change within the next week as there is snow in the forecast.

We have had so many fires. From the hill above the town of Walker it is frighteningly clear that the remaining fuel is the residential area on the west side of the highway. Christmas Valley (South Tahoe) was served a stroke of luck in the Caldor Fire but was, I believe, saved by a huge...

Welcome to the party, Foy! We need some music:

Okay. the one that I thought may have been a continuation of #3 was a separate quake with an epicenter just down the slope from #2 and #3 and a magnitude of 3.5 so make that 4 quakes so far.

Three quakes so far this morning. I definitely felt the 2.9 and 3.8 with epicenters within sight of my house and I say "so far" because they seem to come in clusters. Some days there are none, other days serve us a 6 - 7 course meal. The 2.6 just east of Bridgeport may have been what woke me up...

I've been to that lake. But I turned the video off. Uhhhhmmm - flying a drone in a wilderness area is not legal and I have been followed and buzzed by a drone in that particular valley.

Pandemic of stupidity or sociopathy? Some people will do whatever they are allowed to get away with. Critical thinking and ethics take work.

Regarding the chainsaw restrictions: apparently it is perfectly okay to operate a chainsaw, weedwhacker, brush mower, etc. or drag a box grader through dry weeds and tear up sagebrush with a backhoe at any hour of the day any day of the year as long as it is on private property - and according...

I just got home from a backpacking trip that had been postponed several times since early August. I did get a couple of days of clear air near the crest of the Sierra when the wind shifted - watched the forecast and planned for it. And then I am walking through the Leavitt Meadow campground to...

I can do nothing but shake my head at the people who insist on building a campfire when it is so warm I am lying on top of my sleeping bag with all the camper windows open - or the people who build such a huge fire they can't sit any closer than 10 feet away. But the biggest problem is that...

Ski's story reminds me of following a car for maybe 9 miles through the Walker canyon. I kept honking my horn and waving at him in an attempt to get him to pull over and rescue his hiking boots from the top of the car. He finally pulled off the road and I pointed out the boots. The socks were...

My friend was in the bulls eye of the Mountain View fire last year. He retired here after having been a firefighter for more than 30 years and he stayed and saved his home. If I could only use two words to describe his property it would be **** discontinuous fuel. **** I nodded my head when...

The first chatter I heard was lightning. I doubted that so I went looking for electrical transmission lines. According to the co-ordinates plugged into Google Earth the fire started part way up the canyon wall, at an elevation of about 3200 ft with no visible road beyond the top of the ridge...

These latest megafires were not caused by campers but I'll bet most people recall the video of people trapped by fire last year. I am not surprised by the closures. but I also need to say: I have a lot of friends in Tahoe - skied Kirkwood for 25 years, lived there for 4, lived in Meyers for a...

I called law enforcement after I was able to see this moron out there dragging a grader back and forth across his property. I was informed there is nothing they can do because he is not violating any law. He does not have anyone else out there with a hose or anything. The dispatch person did not...

right at this very moment, red flag warning and all, winds picking up, as dry as something or other - a neighbor has decided this is a fine time to play with his tractor - I can hear all kind of crushing and crashing but cannot see exactly what he is doing - I am considering calling law...

It seemed to have quieted down lately but I guess I am getting used to the aftershocks - maybe. We had a swarm of them last night around the dinner hour that I barely noticed but the 4.6 woke me shortly after I had fallen asleep. Then, apparently, I slept through several other 2.5 - 3.3 quakes...

My experience while living in two different "rural" areas over the past 40 years is that the wildfires have overwhelmingly been human caused. When I lived in the Yuba County foothills every single wildfire was some kind of stupid human trick. Here in Northern Mono county and the adjacent region...

I have not found the particular chart I was looking for but my recollection is that around 80% of wildfires have "human" causes. If I remember the break down of human causes debris burning was the largest percentage followed by "equipment" which would include dragging a tow chain, a chunk...

I keep seeing pictures in my mind of the people trapped at Mammoth Pools Reservoir (I think?) by the Creek Fire last year - eventually flown out by military helicopters. The thought of Labor Day crowds evacuating the Tahoe basin is a worst case scenario but I think closing the forests is a good...