2 july 2005. saturday. goffsgram. fire-13 by dennis casebier.
on 30 june 2005 hugh brown, jo
ann and i took a long drive up through the burn areas around the providence
mountains, mid hills region, round valley, etc. we did not get over to
ivanpah valley on the west side of the new yorks so i don't have any
firsthand knowledge about that.
the bottom line is that a disaster has struck the heart of the
east mojave in such a way that it will not recover during the lifetime of
most people living now. also it appears much of the damage might have been
avoided if the right decisions had been made and the proper disposition of
fire-fighting resources ordered. finally, in these introductory remarks,
i'll toss out a reminder that the fire season has only just begun. some
areas - like lanfair valley - are still too green to encourage the fire on
level ground. within a month that green will fade and the chances of even
more serious conflagrations are likely.
operations: i wasn't in the command center and i wasn't out on
the fire line, so i can't know everything. but i've been out in the field
and i've talked with a lot of people. i have gained impressions.
to begin with, on wednesday 22 june 2005, the day the fires
started, jo ann and i went up lanfair road. the fire was raging in the
hackberrys. there were quite a few trucks and fire fighters standing around
watching. i asked what the game plan was. they said they couldn't drive into
wilderness where the fire started so they would wait until it came out of
wilderness. also i was told it was their plan to make their stand at lanfair
road. i'm understanding that during that first day the word was to let the
fire burn itself out in wilderness. instead of burning itself out in
wilderness, it came out of the wilderness like a run-away freight train.
even then, so far as i can see and determine, there was no major effort to
stop the fire. instead resources were devoted to saving structures. and it
appears there was a prioritization as to what structures to save some
people had preference - especially around round valley.
the fire that caused so much trouble in round valley came from
the western half of gold valley. it roared down the western side of round
valley in a short time carrying everything before it, including modern and
historic structures. then comes the situation about which a question could
be raised. as the fire approached cedar canyon road in at least two major
places (one by government holes and rock spring and the other to the west
near pinto mountain) it had deceased in intensity. the place to stop it was
the natural fire break created by cedar canyon road and the wash adjacent to
it. and it can be seen that was accomplished in places, but unfortunately
not everywhere. the fire came into cedar canyon road in a narrow hour glass
shape, and it left the same way. the result was pinto mountain, the western
edge of pinto valley, part of the new york mountains, and some of ivanpah
valley burned. with the massive amount of resources brought to bear by this
time, and the huge amount of money spent, one wonders why the fire could not
have been stopped at cedar canyon road? there are those in the east mojave
who believe the effort to actually stop it was half-hearted and the real
emphasis was on saving structures. even so, half the structures in round
valley were lost.
a few specifics: the fire burned the historic site at rock
spring. it apparently came from the south along the edge of watson wash
since the mountains that go south from rock spring are completely burned
(including the magnificent pinons). however, apparently on its own, the fire
did not get out into watson wash. also it was mostly stopped at cedar canyon
road. there were no structures at rock spring to burn except bert smith's
rock house and the toilet facility put in there recently by mojave national
preserve (mnp) nps. both structures were spared.
passing over to government holes it can be seen the fire burned
the mountains to the south up towards the barnett or patterson mine and also
greening mountain directly south. i expect (but did not explore on this
occasion) the remaining wooden structures at the barnett mine were burned.
at government holes we were relieved to see that, while the fire
was all around the well site, the old cottonwood trees were spared. the main
corrals on the west side of the former watering place (mnp nps has turned
the water off - the windmill fan spins recklessly in the wind but pumps no
water) were untouched, but the larger enclosure that was around the circular
watering trough was burned - in places you can't tell where the fences had
been except for the strands of wire on the ground.
from government holes we cut across round valley to check damage
and to access black canyon road on the far side. in the vicinity of
government holes and beyond to the southwest there were many stretches of
"moonscape." everything was burned. we did, by the way, get to see a
historical site near government holes that we had not seen in a long time
because of brush. what we saw driving across round valley is that one finger
of the fire came down the easterly side of the valley (although not
everything on the east side was destroyed) and then there's a finger in the
middle of the valley that did not burn. the ancient and venerable providence
ranch buildings, owned by irene ausmus, did not burn. neither did the
homestead site of ambrose stotts, although areas around both of these places
did burn.
as we approached the west side of round valley we entered the
worse burn areas. completely denuded in places - "moonscape" is the best way
to describe it. it is noteworthy that the former site of the stotts stamp
mill was in the middle of one of the worst burn areas. if we had not
purchased the mill from the owner of that private land several years ago and
brought it to goffs for reassembly, it would have been completely lost.
round valley ranch, frank sparks' place, the home of john klink,
and others at the sw corner of round valley were completely devastated. this
area and a strip north from there laying along both sides of black canyon
road was among the worst we saw. it had been pretty heavily covered with
trees and sage brush and it must have been an inferno through there. going
south along black canyon road we came to pettit's well and our worst fears
were verified. the old stick corral there, constructed, as i understand it,
by boots and bessie yates probably a hundred years ago, was nothing but a
thin layer of ashes. not a stick was left standing - only a ring formed by a
pipe that had helped give strength to the juniper sticks.
across the road we encountered another terrible loss. the
homestead site of early round valley resident, gunfighter bob hollimon, was
totally devastated. everything that could burn was nothing but the slightest
layer of dusty ashes.
farther north from there was the homesite of long-time friends
of the mojave road dick and kathy macpherson, where there was nothing but
moonscape. as an example of the ferocity of the fire, they told us they had
a stack of 100 railroad ties stored at a certain spot. there was nothing
left to show where the stack had been, only a thin layer of powdery ashes
that looked the same as everything around it. their home was nothing but a
debris field. their lush forest of juniper and pinon is completely gone. as
with others, they are now faced with a decision about whether to rebuild in
the face of the reality that it'll never be the same in their lifetimes.
we then reversed our course going south on black canyon road to
wild horse canyon road and headed up towards mid hills campground. our
hearts sank as we approached. there was devastation everywhere in what had
been one of the most beautiful spots in the east mojave and one of only two
campgrounds. the entrance to the campground was barricaded so we couldn't
get in. we encountered a park service person on the road and were informed
that 2/3rds of the campground and many wonderful pinons were destroyed.
we decided to go on around wild horse canyon road to
hole-in-the-wall. this has been considered one of the most wonderful drives
in the east mojave (it was a blm backcountry byway at one time), but never
again. with trepidation we went as far down macedonia canyon as we could
only to discover that it, too, with its ancient pinons, was burned. then
back to black canyon road and on around. i am sorry to report that about 90%
of the wild horse canyon loop is burned and will not be the same in your
lifetime. you can forget about taking your friends to see this beautiful
area. a fairly good-sized fire was raging far up the steep slope of the
north side of wild horse mesa. it appears that entire area has burned or was
burning.
in summary, the heart of the most beautiful part of the east
mojave desert has been burned. and it would seem almost a certainty that
this is only the beginning. the areas that have not burned are still fairly
green. but with the high temperatures and low humidity we're having now, it
won't be long until those even more extensive flatter valley areas are dry
as tinder and ready to burn. a lightning strike in the right spot, and with
all the fuel because there are no cattle to consume and remove it, it'll go
up in an instant and they won't be able to stop it even if they try. that'll
take care of the joshua tree forests and much of the dwindling inventory of
historical resources.
meanwhile, in the face of all this, mojave national preserve
continues to remove cattle industry infrastructure. we take note that the
old corrals adjacent to cedar canyon road where it goes down the long slope
towards the uprr have been removed. also corrals and other structures in and
around the columbia mine have been removed. we'll never know what the
motivation is behind this because it would involve gaining access to the
bureaucratic mind, but the level of their determination is apparent. and now
they've gotten this boost from mother nature who has shown how effective she
can be in destruction of historical and natural resources.
can be in destruction of historical and natural resources.
we were flagged down at one point by a government vehicle, the
driver of which thought we were part of his crew. it was a team out there
charged with the responsibility of developing a recovery plan in seven days!
can you imagine that? the fire isn't out yet and they are working on a
recovery plan. and then consider this contradiction: there are statements
coming out of national park service to the effect that, except for
destruction of private property, there's nothing wrong with this fire since
it is an act of mother nature. now, if it is ok for there to be a fire
caused by mother nature, then why wouldn't it be ok for mother nature to
figure out how to recover from it? it is all a bunch of nonsense and part of
the nps spin with which we have become so familiar.
as to the efficacy of the fire fighting effort, which involved
the expenditure of millions of dollars, i'm not impressed. as previously
mentioned, jo ann and i talked with fire fighters who were just standing
around waiting for the fire to come out of wilderness. they could not drive
in wilderness. then when the fire came out of wilderness it was out of
control and all they tried to do was protect structures, and success at that
(at least in round valley) was marginal. then there's the failure to stop
(at least in round valley) was marginal. then there's the failure to stop
the fire at cedar canyon road. the fire had slackened in intensity, there
were hundreds of fire fighters out there (over 900 at one time according to
news accounts) with the proper equipment, yet the fire was allowed to jump
this wonderful fire break. then there was the big wash adjacent to the road.
there was scattered brush in it, but it could have been cleared with a
bulldozer or even backhoes. but, as i understand it, national park service
would not allow bulldozers to be used to fight the fire.
i have not said much about the fire as it moved northward from
cedar canyon road. it appears the pinto mountains and the western edge of
pinto valley burned. also the western edge of fourth of july canyon. (so far
as we know no structures were burned in fourth of july canyon - we
specifically visited shell & sandy mcintosch and everything was ok in their
neighborhood.) after that the fire went over the new york mountains and down
into the eastern and southern part of ivanpah valley. i have not been over
there. but that's where the fire ended. since i have received a number of
questions about this, i will mention that we did drive by the mouth of
carruthers canyon and saw no sign of fire.
mojave national preserve nps has been quite silent about the
fire. there was a news release or two in the beginning and they had some
contradictory statements, especially as regards whether the fire was good
because it is natural or bad because it ruins the heart of the mojave
national preserve for the next few generations. i approached one nps person
during the height of the catastrophe and struck up a conversation about it.
i expected to hear concerns about the magnitude of the disaster. instead,
the person referred to what a thrill (not my word) it was to be involved in
something of this magnitude. there were more than 500 fire fighters out
there at the time. not a word about the resources. i am thoroughly convinced
that concern about natural and historical resources in the mojave national
preserve is not high on the priority list.
i have seen nothing in print attributed to superintendent mary
martin, who, as many of you likely know, has suddenly been transferred to a
much smaller park unit (lassen national park 100,000 acres versus 1,600,000
in mnp) effective in september. several groups take credit for causing the
move.
much justified finger pointing is encountered with reference to
the mnp nps removal of all the cattle (that used to eat the grass). also
there is much criticism of subsequent decisions by mnp nps to turn all the
waters off that had been used by ranchers for over 100 years.
by the time we took our trip on 30 june most fire fighters were
gone. we saw several detachments of blm and nps individuals driving around
in what appeared to be small fire trucks. we didn't see anyone attending the
two fires we saw.
on an earlier trip of observation into lanfair valley, we played
a tiny role in support of the fire fighting effort. we discovered a big
truck on the desert two-tracker road north of cedar canyon road near rock
spring that turned out to be a porta-pottie service truck hunting for former
ox ranch headquarters! we got him turned around and down to cedar canyon
road and did our best to tell him how to find ox ranch headquarters whereat
he would find the bright blue porta-potties to be pumped. this was not easy
because he didn't speak english. so, for awhile there, we had a caravan that
consisted of casebiers expedition in front with hugh brown and carol mcbride
as passengers, a huge porta-pottie pumper in the middle, and chris & leslie
ervin in their jeep cherokee bringing up the rear. in spite of the gravity
of the situation with which we were surrounded, some wags in our group were
able to see a streak of humor in this. actually it might be a harbinger of
things to come where we might be required to bring porta potties with us on
picnics!
an aside: it has been reported that long-time friends of the
mojave road frank sparks and dick and kathy macpherson lost their complete
sets of tales of the mojave road publishing co. books. both have been
involved since near the beginning of our movement. dick and kathy came by
here and we had occasion to check something in one of the books, so i gave
it to them and said i'd give them another book every time they come by.
i suppose this report is riddled with what mnp nps calls
"misinformation." i now know what "misinformation" is. misinformation is
anything a person might say that is different than the party line at mnp
nps.
this is a terrible tragedy for the east mojave. it surpasses,
even, anything mnp nps has been able to do and they've been working on it
over ten years.
the fire has not threatened us here - yet. having now seen what
moonscape looks like, we'll be clearing burro bushes and grass farther and
farther back all summer. come out and help if it should fit your schedule.
thanks.
dennis casebier
|
|
