Fires Season
Yesterday late afternoon, I looked out the back window to see something dark, about the size of a Monarch Butterfly, fall into the weeds. I wondered if it might have traveled here on the updrafts of a fire a few miles to the southwest. St. Catherine’s Indian School was actively burning in northwest Santa Fe. Right after, local citizens received a text asking us not to call 911 about the fire that they already knew about. And then, another text came to ask us to conserve water pressure. This morning I recovered the fire debris from the yard (below).
Even before the fire in town, the skies were hazy from smoke. A couple of weeks ago the “McCauley Springs” fire started near Los Alamos, initiated by lightening from a storm system that also took out our power for a few hours. A few smaller fires have begun and been controlled in the meantime, but McCauley Springs continues to burn. More recently the much bigger “Beehive” fire started in the Carson National Forest, less than 60 miles northwest from where we were recently camping. The McCauley Springs fire was likely the source of our haze in northern Santa Fe earlier today and yesterday.
Of course, fires have always been a part of the landscape here. Climate change makes the droughts longer and the winds stronger and so the fires are, on average, more devastating. Personally, I don’t know what’s “normal” since I’m new here.
The St. Catherine’s fire in town had nothing to do with climate change. Police officers arrested a nude man who was observed fleeing the building about the time the fire started. The school had been closed and vacant for decades. Plans for redevelopment were in the works. I’m sure that will take a different shape now that most of the historic building is no longer available.
Wildfire’s obvious downsides include landscape scarring, a mild feeling of danger, and higher insurance premiums. Surprising benefits are the beautiful sunsets and the strangely alluring smell of smoke.
I hope you are having a safe and enjoyable holiday weekend.
Thanks for reading.