Wow, Rey, your whole essay so eloquently communicates that eeriness of being so close to a natural disaster. Forest fires invoke such a primal fear. I listened to this Ologies episode a while back that you might find interesting. It includes interviews with two fire scientists, one of whom details differences between Indigenous American methods of managing fire, and Eurocentric practices: https://www.alieward.com/ologies/fireecologyencore
Lassen is great! One of the most underrated peaks in the Cascades..if you visit some of the other ones, you'll see why, they make it look shrimpy, even though it's great on its own. Smoke is the new reality, unfortunately. Very good summer so far in the PNW on that front thus far, and hopefully stays that way in a few weeks for our backpacking around Mt. Rainier + various camping in OR road trip, but only because it was so horrendous in previous years. Much farther in the interior and up North though, still countless fires. You might have seen, Jasper National Park in Canadian Rockies currently closed due to fires and lightning---1/3 of the town burned and was evacuated. Wildlife still seems to be doing well, luckily. That's one of the most epic Nat Parks I've been to, btw, the scale of it is incredible (as is that entire area).
Wow, Rey, your whole essay so eloquently communicates that eeriness of being so close to a natural disaster. Forest fires invoke such a primal fear. I listened to this Ologies episode a while back that you might find interesting. It includes interviews with two fire scientists, one of whom details differences between Indigenous American methods of managing fire, and Eurocentric practices: https://www.alieward.com/ologies/fireecologyencore
I did feel a primal fear, yes, thank you for recognizing that!
Wow, this podcast looks amazing - I just downloaded it and look forward to digging in. Thank you for the recommendation!
Lassen is great! One of the most underrated peaks in the Cascades..if you visit some of the other ones, you'll see why, they make it look shrimpy, even though it's great on its own. Smoke is the new reality, unfortunately. Very good summer so far in the PNW on that front thus far, and hopefully stays that way in a few weeks for our backpacking around Mt. Rainier + various camping in OR road trip, but only because it was so horrendous in previous years. Much farther in the interior and up North though, still countless fires. You might have seen, Jasper National Park in Canadian Rockies currently closed due to fires and lightning---1/3 of the town burned and was evacuated. Wildlife still seems to be doing well, luckily. That's one of the most epic Nat Parks I've been to, btw, the scale of it is incredible (as is that entire area).
Glad you've had a relatively smoke-free summer so far, and hope it stays that way for your backpacking trip, very exciting!
I'd love to visit the Canadian Rockies someday (when it's not on fire), thanks for the recommendation!