Re: [alfa] Alfa Paradise Lost...

[Stacy Faught <onethumb@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>]

I have been continually dissapointed at the lack of
coverage we are getting here in Orange County of the
situation in San Diego.  The local news outlets seem
to be focusing on LA only, with barely a mention of
the unmitigated disaster to the south.  

As an outdoors enthusiast, it makes me very angry to
see what should have been prevented...the "Put the
fire out immediately" attitude of the past decades has
resulted in an unatural buildup of dead undergrowth
that is now causing the natural process of forest
regenaration through small fires to become a severe
problem.  Most of the trees and plants that populate
the area are somewhat resistant to fire, as a result
of adapting to the arid climate where brush fires are
common.  But the heat of these human-enhanced fires
could do permanent damage to the ecosystem.  The same
kind of thing happened recently in the redwood areas
of CA---those trees actually require fire as part of
their reproduction process, but the undergrowth that
should have been allowed to burn had built up so much
that the fire was much larger and hotter than it
should have been, and some VERY old trees were lost.  

There may be a light at the end of the tunnel,
though...while on my last annual backpacking trip in
Yosemite, I noticed the severely fire damaged areas
from a few years back are already starting to show
abundant signs of life again.  Trees grow amazingly
fast when they do not have to compete for resources. 
In the end, hopefully these fires will be good for the
area...forest can and will regrow, and buildings can
be rebuilt.  I suppose that, despite humans' best
efforts otherwise, nature has a way of setting things
right.  Think of the joy of watching the re-birth of
the area year after year as we drive our Alfas
through...

I would encourage all of you to think carefully about
supporting our national/state wilderness' and parks
when these things come up for public vote (as they do
on almost EVERY ballot).  The research that the parks
support can help us understand how these ecosystems
work, and mabye even prevent us from screwing it all
up so bad that we have disasters when nature decides
to set it all right again.  
I'd also (of course) encourage you to spend a week or
two on your own two feet with a backpack and about 40
miles of trail mapped out.  Just don't leave your
Alfas at the trailhead....the bears might find them as
desireable as we do and decide to sleep in/on one.

See...Alfa content!

Seriously---I hope everyone south AND north is able to
manage their way through this...and think about the
amazing job the fire departments are doing. 
Especially think about it when it comes time for the
annual ball, or whatever the local dept. does, and
they are asking for a measly $75 for a ticket you
probably won't use.  

Okay, I'm off my soapbox now...back to lurking!

Stacy Faught
'78 Alfetta Sport Sedan
'87 Spider Quad
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