First, I posted several pics from Alaska. If you haven't seen them, they're href="http://dichroic.diaryland.com/akpics.html">here.
Yesterday
we went up to assess the damage to the property. Thanksfully there wasn't any;
even the new treelings we'd planted are fine. Most of the
href="http://az82.com">Airpark is undamaged, but there are a few people who
face the heartbreaking chore of cleaning out the rubble of a house that's burned
to the foundations. There are bands of burned trees all the way from west of Heber
to Show Low (for scale, that drive takes most of an hour). To balance it, in the
usual way of life, there are houses and hangars going up that were untouched by
smoke, and I am very pleased to report that the burned areas are already being
reseeded. Apparently the hurry is to give the seeds a chance to take root before
the monsoon rains wash them away.
The astonishing thing about the
fire is how spotty it was; there will be a damaged area next to an intact area
next to a destroyed area, all along the main road. Close to the Airpark, in some
of the area hit hardest by the Chediski part of the fire, there are living trees
surrounding houses rendered to rubble, and intact houses surrounded by burnt trees
(no bets on smoke damage though).
The fire has given everyone more
impetus to clear out the underbrush and low-hanging branches. Next week we'll drag
Mechaieh out there as we take another
couple truckloads to the dump, but I've already informed her she isn't expected to
wield an axe or a hacksaw. Someone has to provide the conversation, after
all.