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08-15-08, 06:14 PM
http://www.bikely.com/maps/bike-path/20080815
You may remember hearing about Paradise lately. It's the town that lost 70+ houses in the recent Butte County fires. One of the local rides goes up into the canyon below Paradise then up into the town. Several spots along the canyon were burned but it was nothing too severe. Several houses had black fields surrounding them but all had survived.
I chugged away up this canyon and into Paradise where everything looked like it does any other day. As I descended back through town and took a turn to go down the canyon on the opposite side of town I was suddenly surrounded by burned trees, burned fields, burned houses, and burned cars. There were big empty lots where the remnants of a foundation could be seen with things like burned-out car and ATV shells in the driveway. Several yards still had metal fences surrounding the property with nothing inside worth protecting anymore.
I'd seen the smoke, know people who had to evacuate, and watched night after night as the news reported new road closures and updates on the fire lines. I saw the pictures in the newspaper. Just like any other fire there were the pictures of fire trucks parked on the side of the road with choking smoke filling the air and ash raining down on everything. Ash even fell on my own house.
But I didn't see the destruction first-hand until today. And the contrast was amazing. I went from a mostly normal canyon complete with creek and horses, then up into a busy city were everyone was going about their lives, and then a mile further down the road suddenly everything was black for as far as you could see.
I didn't realize how real and close it was until I rode my bike there and saw it for myself. I feel bad for all the losses sustained by the people in that town. So I just wanted to share what I say today.
I didn't want to take pictures of the houses themselves, it seemed inappropriate to stop on the side of the road and take pictures of someone's lost livelihood. These pictures don't come close to showing the vast expanse of burn area:
http://a567.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/79/l_c511af5ed2bf419c3d74a142cf6166de.jpg
http://a220.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/29/l_0f75bda8d7b7f764f5749e9e3987bf13.jpg
You may remember hearing about Paradise lately. It's the town that lost 70+ houses in the recent Butte County fires. One of the local rides goes up into the canyon below Paradise then up into the town. Several spots along the canyon were burned but it was nothing too severe. Several houses had black fields surrounding them but all had survived.
I chugged away up this canyon and into Paradise where everything looked like it does any other day. As I descended back through town and took a turn to go down the canyon on the opposite side of town I was suddenly surrounded by burned trees, burned fields, burned houses, and burned cars. There were big empty lots where the remnants of a foundation could be seen with things like burned-out car and ATV shells in the driveway. Several yards still had metal fences surrounding the property with nothing inside worth protecting anymore.
I'd seen the smoke, know people who had to evacuate, and watched night after night as the news reported new road closures and updates on the fire lines. I saw the pictures in the newspaper. Just like any other fire there were the pictures of fire trucks parked on the side of the road with choking smoke filling the air and ash raining down on everything. Ash even fell on my own house.
But I didn't see the destruction first-hand until today. And the contrast was amazing. I went from a mostly normal canyon complete with creek and horses, then up into a busy city were everyone was going about their lives, and then a mile further down the road suddenly everything was black for as far as you could see.
I didn't realize how real and close it was until I rode my bike there and saw it for myself. I feel bad for all the losses sustained by the people in that town. So I just wanted to share what I say today.
I didn't want to take pictures of the houses themselves, it seemed inappropriate to stop on the side of the road and take pictures of someone's lost livelihood. These pictures don't come close to showing the vast expanse of burn area:
http://a567.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/79/l_c511af5ed2bf419c3d74a142cf6166de.jpg
http://a220.ac-images.myspacecdn.com/images01/29/l_0f75bda8d7b7f764f5749e9e3987bf13.jpg