Bigfoots and Forest Fires

[JKH]

Read this today, terribly sad.

 

https://www.oregonlive.com/environment/2020/09/opal-creek-icon-george-atiyeh-missing-in-beachie-creek-fire-zone.html?utm_campaign=oregonian_sf&utm_source=twitter&utm_medium=social

[Madison5716]

5 hours ago, SWWASAS said:

In a couple of weeks we might be able to find BF because they likely will still be coughing.  

 

Oh my! Poor bigfoots, without N95's! 

 

Yeah, big habitat changes, everything all mixed up. Might be an intriguing time to be out there - if I had a full mask ventilator! Without it, only short trips would be doable. But I'm sure it's still very unsafe. The roads must be disastrous. Animals who survived may be very hungry, with all the small game dead or dying soon from ash inhalation. Might be a dangerous time to be researching. 

[Twist]

2 hours ago, hiflier said:

 

This kind of general thinking is so WRONG! The elderly and the infirm may be smart but they are NO LONGER fast. There's no doubt in my mind that some are going to be left behind and lost to these fires. This has been one of my unspoken grievances regarding the Finding Bigfoot episodes. It taught people the wrong message regarding these creatures. The they are all big, strong, fast and smart. It never took into account that some of these creatures might be pregnant or have infants, or be old and slow or even dying with the when the team went out howling and tree knocking. The general disrespect and disregard for these Bigfoots and other animals was disgusting. And they, unthinkingly, taught the public to go out and do the same. That attitude prevails to this day when I read a statement like the quote above. "Someone" who so obviously didn't get it back then STILL doesn't get it.   

While I do not wish any harm to BF during these fires I’d have to agree with PNW here, they’ll move and be fine most likely.  Wildfires are nothing new to BF or other animals.  
 

 I hardly doubt Finding Bigfoot did much to change their way of life.  BF has probably spent its entire lives hiding or avoiding mankind, we can’t even find rock solid evidence they exist short of the PGF.  My guess is they think of us as bumbling idiots in the woods and we only catch a glimpse when they don’t care enough to be stealthy or want to mess with us.   

[PNWexplorer]

1 hour ago, Madison5716 said:

 

Oh my! Poor bigfoots, without N95's! 

We tried...

 

 

[NatFoot]

11 hours ago, SWWASAS said:

Today I was looking for clear air and most places in the Western half of Oregon were between 1/4 and 1/2 mile visibility.  I cannot stand to be outside without a N-95 respirator or better.   I have a couple of N-99 respirators.    I think you have to go as far as Idaho and Montana to get moderate or better air.   It is Very Unhealthy or Hazardous in most of Oregon.    In a couple of weeks we might be able to find BF because they likely will still be coughing.  

 

In theory, your chances should also be better to hear or catch a glimpse of them fighting.

 

That is, unless someone is going to say that BF all of the sudden don't care about territorial borders because of a mutual understanding that it's bad where the fleeing bigfoots are coming from.

 

 

[SWWASAS]

Good point!   If they are territorial then they might object to fleeing BF moving through there territory.   One of the habituators I have had contact with claims that there local BF clan have issues with roaming BF now and then.      We hear that they have patriarcal family groups.      If true,   and I don' know how anyone knows that,  young males would be forced out of the group to roam and find a mate.     

 

As for the wildfires being nothing new to BF,  this wildfire smoke event has never,  repeat never, been seen in the PNW.     A combination of meteorological events  with high winds stoking the fires, then days of dead calm,   has resulted in widespread, multistate hazardous air quality.     Portland Oregon has been at the top of the worst air quality in the world list for the last several days.    I could barely make out the house across the road from me this morning.   One of the meters that show airquality had it off the end of the scale on the bad end.    Theoretically impossible to be that bad.  

[BC witness]

I'm hundreds of miles N of Portland, and the smoke is very bad here, as well. In the photo below, I would normally see Mt. Baker, 20 miles SE of me, in the upper left of the frame; right now, the smoke obscures everything out beyond 500 yards or so.

Edited September 13, 2020 by BC witness

[Incorrigible1]

1 hour ago, SWWASAS said:

As for the wildfires being nothing new to BF,  this wildfire smoke event has never,  repeat never, been seen in the PNW.     A combination of meteorological events  with high winds stoking the fires, then days of dead calm,   has resulted in widespread, multistate hazardous air quality.

Management, or lack thereof, of dead timber, plays a part. No?

[SWWASAS]

The Oregon State Fire Marshal resigned yesterday.    That tells me you are very correct.    With the numberr of dead and missing stacking up,   any mismanagement is going to get some jail time.  

Edited September 13, 2020 by SWWASAS

[picman77]

Could the massive fires in the western U.S. drive Bigfoot to flee into open areas where it's more likely to be seen, or,  might Bigfoot bodies be found in the aftermath?

[Doug]

The Beachie Creek fire has been burning since August 16th. The fire fighters were told to stand down and monitor it. I suspect it was because a healthy forest is one that occasionally burns, as well as is managed responsibly and sustainably. So, allowing it to burn some was decided as it posed no danger to life or dwellings, that is until it did. As those 60 plus mile an hour east winds coupled with historic low humidity, pushed the fire west, it over ran the the firefighters base camp and there was nothing that could be done but warn those it it's path. I work with people who where woken up with an order get out now. They were asleep at 2:30 in the morning with no knowledge of the fire and now they were told to grab their clothes and carry them to the car and drive. They could put their clothes on later. Some coworkers had to drive through the flames to get out, as the fire was in their yard. It happened way too fast for something that can only run 40 or so miles an hour to escape in my opinion.

[Catmandoo]

Forests are patchworks of burn sites. Unfortunately, the recent deaths, displacements and property damage are a huge disaster. Fire ecology of forests is a normal evolution. Before humans got careless, forest fires were started by lightning. At any given time there are about 2,000 thunderstorms around the planet. That is about 50 lightning strikes per second. 

 

Pinus Contorta  is an interesting example of a mutation in evolution that has occurred over a very long time. 'A fire-dependent species'.

From Wikipedia ( you don't have to read it if you don't like Wikipedia ).

 

Pinus Contorta:

 

Ecology[edit]

P. contorta subsp. latifolia forest 23 years before (above) and 10 years after (below) the Yellowstone fires of 1988

Pinus contorta is a fire-dependent species, requiring wildfires to maintain healthy populations of diverse ages. The bark of the lodgepole pine is fairly thin, minimizing the tree's defense to fire; however, the heat of fire opens the cones to release the seeds. This allows the species to regenerate and maintain its place in the forest habitat.^[28] One plant community in which Pinus contorta is found is the closed-cone pine forest of coastal California.

Excessive wildfire prevention disrupts the fire ecology. The stands are usually so densely populated that the trees self-thin, or out-compete each other, leaving dead trees standing. These become a dry ladder fuel that can accelerate the fire to the crown of living trees. When the fire reaches the crowns of the trees, it can jump from tree to tree and becomes relatively unstoppable.

The natural fire regime for this species is primarily driven by climate. The fires occur most often after years of drought. Pinus contorta occurs from the upper montane to the subalpine region. These types of forests experience a lot of moisture in the form of snow in the winter due to their altitude. The density of the tree stand also inhibits the establishment of an understory. With all of that being said, the likelihood of a surface fire occurring is rare. Thus, infrequent but severe fires dominate this species.^[28]

An example of the climate that plays a huge role in the fire regime of Pinus contorta is quite complex. There are three different oscillations that play a major role in droughts. These are the Pacific Decadal Oscillation (PDO), Atlantic Multi-decadal Oscillation (AMO) and El Nino (ENSO). A combination of these oscillations being in effect (+) or not in effect (-) have a global effect on the water available to these forests. So when the AMO +, ENSO – and PDO –, there is going to be a drought and likely a severe subalpine fire.^[29]

 

A cluster of pollen-bearing male cones at Mount San Antonio

Suillus tomentosus, a fungus, produces specialized structures called tuberculate ectomycorrhizae with the roots of lodgepole pine (Pinus contorta var. latifolia). These structures have been shown to be the location of concentrations of nitrogen-fixing bacteria which contribute a significant amount of nitrogen to tree growth and allow the pines to colonize nutrient-poor sites.^[30][31]

Threats[edit]

This species is attacked by blue stain fungus (Grosmannia clavigera), distributed by the mountain pine beetle from its mouth.

A study released in 2011 concluded that Pinus contorta could experience significant reductions in distribution due to climate change by the late 21st century.^[32][33]

 

Intervals between massive burns are noted on tree ring studies.  Indigenous peoples of the west coast may have oral histories of huge burns. The Forest Service studies the burn histories to develop strategies for fire prevention. The methods for 'pine' forests are different than 'fir' forests but politicians want a 'one size fits all' approach and that does not work. The USFS in your states will have research papers on pine and fir forest fire events. Worth a look. I found a paper on a Washington State area that examined tree rings from the 1600's to the 1800's and found over 100 fires.

Edited September 13, 2020 by Catmandoo

[Doug]

In the area around Salem Oregon, Native Americans would burn areas of fields and timber to attract big game animals, who browse on the new vegetation. One area is called bald mountain because when the early Europeans settled in the area, that mountain contain no trees because Natives burned it annually, so the forests have experienced fire from the dawn of time obviously. I saw a chart that showed large forest fires in Oregon. The forest fires prior to the forties were huge compared to now. I think that the reason is because there were not as many people in the area and there was no way to effectively fight the fire. 

 

As healthy as it may be for the forest, it sure isn't healthy for us who live west of the fires today or for those who lost so much. There are things man can do to help prevent such a tragedy in the future.

[SWWASAS]

The NA likely did their burning in the wet season.   Picked a dry day, set the fire, and in a day or two the rains put it out.  The forests used to be managed by us the same way, then the leave it alone attitude started.     Quite frankly,   given the damage to peoples health these fires are doing,  the forest managers need to be called before congress and grilled.   As a former fireman,   I have issues with how wildland fires are fought.    It is surround and let it burn out.    Surely we have the technology to deliver water on a fire in the woods other than dropping it from the air.      Air assents have not been used on most of these Oregon and Washington fires.    It is too smoky for the aircraft to fly.   Portland weather this morning was below landing minimums and it is miles from any fire.  

[NatFoot]

1 hour ago, picman77 said:

Could the massive fires in the western U.S. drive Bigfoot to flee into open areas where it's more likely to be seen, or,  might Bigfoot bodies be found in the aftermath?

 

This is the equivalent of the bat signal for hiflier.