California wildfire reaches Yosemite park

[dipsydoodle]

A huge California wildfire has burned into Yosemite National Park, park officials say.

The week-old Rim Fire grew to 164 sq miles (424 sq km) by Friday morning, and had burned 17 sq miles at the edge of the park by the afternoon.

The blaze has forced scores of tourists to flee during peak season and is threatening thousands of homes.

More than 2,000 firefighters have been tackling the flames in difficult terrain. It is just 2% contained.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-23806626

[KansDem]

1. DAMN!!!

One of my fondest memories from youth was the time I backpacked from Tuolumne Meadows into Yosemite. I was in my late teens when my brother-in-law and I spent two days hiking down into the valley. It was beautiful!

I hope the fire is fully contained and extinguished soon!

[Marrah_G]

2. Forest fires aren't a bad thing unless there are houses or people in the way

If there aren't people or houses in the way at Yosemite the park will be just fine in time, maybe even better . Fires are a natural part of growth cycles in some places and necessary for a healthy system. For instance I think it's the Seqioa's ( the really big trees) that need forest fires to reproduce. The hot air dries the top of the trees so the pods/seeds drop to the ground.

[XemaSab]

5. On the western front

there are totally houses and people in the way.

[Marrah_G]

6. I hate to see lives lost or ruined

[IDemo]

7. That may not always be the case in the years to come

Will forests flourish after fires? In a warming world, not always

The traditional wisdom is that today's wildfires set the stage for tomorrow's healthy forests. But researchers are coming to the conclusion that in a warmer world, with more droughts and more wildfires, the traditional wisdom won't always hold true.

You wouldn't know that by looking at Yellowstone National Park, which lost a third of its forest land in a seemingly catastrophic series of wildfires of 1988. Twenty-five years later, the forests are making a stunning comeback.

"The forests regenerated so quickly and so abundantly that even we were surprised," said Monica Turner, an ecologist at the University of Wisconsin at Madison who has been monitoring Yellowstone since 1988. The regeneration of Yellowstone looks like a textbook case in nature's resilience to wildfires. Will that always be the case?

"We thought Yellowstone would be resilient no matter what," Turner told NBC News. "But the recent climate projections have caused us to question that assumption."

http://www.nbcnews.com/science/will-forests-flourish-after-fires-warming-world-not-always-6C10534178http://www.nbcnews.com/science/will-forests-flourish-after-fires-warming-world-not-always-6C10534178

[Marrah_G]

8. Thats a bit un nerving

[hatrack]

11. From what I've read, whitebark pines are in trouble in Yellowstone

Major food source for bears, other animals, so pretty big deal.

[Le Taz Hot]

3. As tragic and scary as this HUGE fire is,

when all is said and done, there will be new life that comes out of this fire. Giant Sequoia seeds can only germinate in fire.

[dipsydoodle]

4. Yosemite fire: Crews bracing for strong winds

GROVELAND, Calif. (AP) -- Firefighters braced for strong winds that could push a raging wildfire further into the northwest edge of Yosemite National Park, threatening thousands of rural homes.

The massive blaze was also burning Saturday in the vicinity of two groves of giant sequoias that are unique the region, prompting park employees to take extra precautions of clearing brush and setting sprinklers.

The towering trees, which grow only on the western slopes of the Sierra Nevada and are among the largest and oldest living things on earth, can resist fire. However, dry conditions and heavy brush are forcing park officials to take extra precautions in the Tuolumne and Merced groves. About three dozen of the trees are affected.

"All of the plants and trees in Yosemite are important, but the giant sequoias are incredibly important both for what they are and as symbols of the National Park System," park spokesman Scott Gediman said Saturday.

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/U/US_WESTERN_WILDFIRES_YOSEMITE?SITE=AP&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT&CTIME=2013-08-25-04-35-39

[petronius]

9. NASA posted a satellite image of the smoke yesterday:

http://www.flickr.com/photos/gsfc/9585107660/in/photostream/

It's pretty impressive...

[IDemo]

10. Boise got a great deal of that yesterday

After getting two weeks of it from the huge fires in the other direction. I'm going to need e-cigs after fire season is over.

[malaise]

12. It's much worse than that

A lot of water sources and electricity connections will create havoc in cities.