doublegunshop.com - home Forums Thread Like Summary - Fire and our shooting future

Having driven to Denver this morning to an ophthalmologist to get help for severe allergic conjunctivitis, I can’t stop thinking about how quickly this air pollution issue has gotten extreme. For three summers now Colorado and much of the west has been covered for 2-4 months with wildfire smoke. At 72 I’d never had allergies but 3 years ago they began and now the progression of symptoms has become so severe once the smoke starts that I have become house bound. Last year it sounded crazy to seriously consider temporarily relocating but after a few weeks of “house arrest” this summer we drove 800 miles east (to outrun the smoke) and stayed a month where we could see and breathe. Back less than two weeks now it’s worse than ever. We were leaving later this week for Idaho to visit grandkids but cancelled this morning because that state is again smack in the middle of the river of smoke from the North Cal fires.

Last summer Colorado experienced the three largest wildfires on record. We were run out of our high mountain summer campsite by smoke but I felt far worse for all the hunters who’d saved and planned for a special hunt in the fall but couldn’t go because of fire or fire damage. I can’t imagine how moose hunters felt who’d waited 20-30 years to draw a tag and then saw the area they drew burn.

I’ve spent plenty of time at the reloading bench as well as my tying bench this summer but I haven’t shot clays or trout fished once since the smoke arrived in June and I know it’s going to be another month or two before any outdoor activities are an option. My airtight motorcyclist sunglasses arrive tomorrow and my N95 will filter a lot of the smoke particulates so I’m not giving up.

While my greatest grief is for those who lose their homes and livelihoods in these wildfires, it seems clear to me now (even though I can’t actually see clearly right now) that the page has turned for us in the west and perhaps the whole country and participation in year round outdoor sports may not be the same again in our lifetimes.

These mega fires are not related to forest management and logging is not going to solve the problem. It's 20 years of historic drought brought on by climate change. I know some people want to believe there is a simple solution (like logging) but there isn't.

The objective professional management of our natural resources and intelligent logging when appropriate would solve most of the wildfire issues...not all...but most.

Too funny, you do known that your two "lake" are enormous, enviro wrecking man made reservoirs. Look at why they were made and where the water gets siphoned off to, California. Take, take, take by the one hand and lead the country down a path to misery on the other? We are running out of deep pockets.

Bullshit. Read:

https://realclimatescience.com/1500-years-of-heatwaves/

Best,
Ted

The drought is very real as are the poor forest management practices that have led to an abundance of fuel on our Federal forest lands. Anyone who has been in the West the last three summers knows that this is not normal. Summers here use to have clear air not some of the worst air in the world. No easy solutions but an increase in logging will help. We have had small scale clearing going on in my area for sometime but not near enough of it. The levels of the Colorado River, Lake Powell and Lake Mead are are at historic lows. We in the West have been receiving far less moisture in the last 20 years than we did in the 20th century and that is a fact.

Don't underestimate that you asking people to accept your assumptions is extremely offensive. If you draw a line and go right to politics and demonizing, it might be thought that you did it intentionally?

Last summer, no doubt was a hazy one in the west, but it was a summer of full lakes and ponds and flowing rivers and streams off the mountains. Most, not all, of the smoke came from California, that I could see in Colorado, Wyoming and Montana. Investigate for yourself if the policy change of political climatologists has basically ended the concept of controlled burns. This is one part of forrest management others have mentioned, and not just the harvest of materials for houses of excess that many might call home. This season, similar no doubt to me, it's dry, water is low, and there are fires everywhere. Overall, it is a bit better than a few weeks ago, temps are down some and a little rain has mixed in.

I hoping for a granpappy story......

Charlie Watts, drumming on the other side now. The Stones have been a constant throughout my cognizant life. Tick Tock! Got your fall plans in order, times a wastin folks!
Chief