...INCREASED FIRE WEATHER THREAT TODAY...
THE COMBINATION OF WIND GUSTS TO 35 MPH...LOW RELATIVE HUMIDITIES
AND DRY FINE FUELS WILL RESULT IN AN ELEVATED RISK FOR THE SPREAD
OF WILDFIRES TODAY. THE GREATEST RISK WILL OCCUR FROM LATE MORNING
THROUGH THE MID TO LATE AFTERNOON...WHEN RELATIVE HUMIDITIES WILL
BE AT THEIR LOWEST.
The above warning is for Oldwick, New Jersey today. These "Severe Weather Alerts" used to appear rarely on Yahoo weather, and were typically related to thunderstorms, flash floods, or foggy driving conditions and very rarely, a tornado watch. Now, anytime there is any wind at all lately, we get a fire watch...and if it's really gusty, we get a "Red Alert". This is what you would expect when trees and other plants are desiccated and dying from ozone pollution. The photograph is from the insane wildfire currently raging in Colorado. The headline to the article in the Daily Mail shrieks, "...wildfire scorches more than 4,000 acres of land and destroys dozens of homes as 900 flee in terror...".
This is going to get even worse, very quickly, all over the world.
We had an outbreak of wildfires here in the DC area last year around this time. It was the first time in 20 years of living here I could ever remember that happening. It has to to be as a result of the trees and plants dying. What other explanation is there?
ReplyDeleteIn all honesty in some places there is no question that droughts are killing trees, as are bark beetles, leading to worse fires (although this jackass who refused to publish my comment, I would hope is eating his words by now http://tamino.wordpress.com/2012/02/10/pine-beetles-and-fire-hazard-in-the-black-hills/).
ReplyDeleteHowever, there are places where there are no droughts, or there have been worse droughts in the past, that are burning; and of course we all know those beetles love to attack trees that are already compromised.
If you look at the bonsai trees at the top of this post from earlier this week, it's pretty clear that something other than insects or a lack of water is killing them:
http://witsendnj.blogspot.com/2012/03/soon-came-woodman-in-leathern-guise.html
Would be interesting to talk to the caretakers of the bonsai. I mean it's fairly easy to make excuses and go into denial about trees outside, but to have all those bonsai that are meticulously cared for dying, that would probably raise the alarm bell with anyone.
ReplyDeleteIf I get a chance I may try, even though I expect one or some combination of the following reactions:
ReplyDelete1. Complete denial - they're fine
2. There is some explanation - disease, bugs, age
3. The sampling is too small to be meaningful