Smokey SoCal Image Collage

[Telecorder]

I just had my new Nikkor 18-70 DZ lens delivered this afternoon and I thought that some might be interested in how the smoke from the conjoined Morongo Valley/Yucca Valley/Big Bear fire is drifting to the northwest where I live (~35-miles northwest of fire line; There's a lot of previously burned area from a bad fire a few years back between it and where I live...)

Upper Left is looking East towards Big Bear Lake/Baldwin Lake area with smoke from fire line to the left of Image

Upper Right/Lower Left are looking to West from my front yard towards Palmdale (North of Los Angeles)
Smoke made for a showy sunset, though... Taken w/my D50 and new Nikkor 18-70 DX lens (last image was at 18mm)

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d73/Telecorder/collage7.jpg

http://i33.photobucket.com/albums/d73/Telecorder/DSC_0686Medium.jpg

Hopefully they can stop it before it gets into the National Forest/Big Bear Lake environs... the devastation from the bark beetle has ravaged the forests and it will be a catastropic conflagaration if it does... Last week or more has been 105-110F; Wx forecast is 105+ for next 7-10 days; Hopefully showers forecasted for next week will let them get it under control...:(

[rawpaw18]

Good luck out there. Be careful what you wish for, rain wise. It has caused alot of damage around
here, recently.

13530

[Esoterra]

Your California Yucca fires are having an impact on us Las Vegans. Please blow down to Mexico lol. All kidding aside, it is nice to have changes in the atmosphere now and then as it leads to unusuall circumstances that lead to new photo opportunities. I took this picture while driving NW out of Vegas on the I95.

Just a thought that I am thinking right now and is open for friendly discussion: forest fires are a natural part of our ecosystem, and is natures way of cleaning things up. Take Yellowstone for instance, when in 1988 1/3 of the entire park was ravaged by wildfires. Environmentalists said that Yellowstone would never recover, yet it has flourished, and they saw positive changes in the local wildlife and allowed for new growth. If Big Bear goes up in flame, its good for nature, not good for man! There weren't firefighters and air assist strategies before the 18-19th century and I am sure there were large fires back then too. Yet we still have beautiful forests to enjoy. I also think that part of the tragedies and loss we see today is a by product of humankind encroaching and develping more and more land into areas that affect the local ecosystem and these changes can lead to disasters that might have been avoided had the land been left as it was. On the other hand, I am sure that I would be playing a different tune if I had property of value at risk in these fires, and I do feel bad for those people that had to be evacuated and those that lost their homes.

http://ChrisRoss.smugmug.com/photos/81781206-L.jpg

[Telecorder]

to as far away as Utah and beyond... :(

I concur, Chris... the pendulum of conservation and not utilizing optimum management practices has cost us dearly...

Nice graduations in your image...!