Photo: New York Times

This is a continuation of the Everglades fire and the good and bad repercussions. Apparently some tragedies are not entirely tragic. They are still uncertain as to the fate of the Cape Sable Seaside Sparrows.

By DAMIEN CAVE

Published: May 23, 2008

The New York Times

REDLAND, Fla. — Rick Anderson, the fire management officer for Everglades National Park, stood in the burnt grass where the largest fire in 19 years began here last week and assessed the costs and benefits.

The fire, which was 70 percent under control on Thursday, has scorched about 40,000 acres, sent smoke over Miami and forced schools to close temporarily. And yet, it has also poured nutrients into the soil, killed nonnative plants and made it harder for hawks to prey on the endangered Cape Sable seaside sparrow.

Park officials said someone sparked the fire accidentally or by arson, but is the impact good or bad?

“Like so much here, it’s not just one thing,” said Mr. Anderson, who starts planned fires in addition to fighting those that are unwanted. He added, “Fire is our grizzly bear or our wolf: it has to be here.” Then he pointed toward a house in the distance. “But it can’t be over there.”

The Everglades has long faced the challenge of balancing humankind versus nature, and the latest fire is no exception. From its start in a beer-bottle strewn area on the park’s eastern edge, near both homes and the seaside sparrow’s habitat, the blaze has exemplified the struggle to revive a fragile ecosystem that abuts one of the nation’s most developed areas.

Many environmentalists here have described the fire as an indictment of the federal Everglades restoration plan, which after eight years has failed to seize enough water from nearby communities to rehydrate the so-called river of grass.

“This is exactly the area of the park where we should be having more water this time of year,” said Alan Farago, executive director of the Everglades Defense Council. “The park’s on fire, Florida Bay is a disaster, and we’re still fighting over getting enough water of the right quality.”

Mr. Anderson warned that more water alone would not have kept the Everglades from burning. With its wispy vegetation, dry season and high winds, “this place is built to burn,” he said. Even in an idealized Everglades, “there would still be fires,” he said.

But several scientists at the park said the perpetual lack of water had made the fire’s impact more severe. Indeed, the blaze burned 100 acres in just its first few hours, before sunrise on the morning of May 14. And from there it took off, racing along at speeds of up to 8 miles an hour, faster than most people can run.

Park officials initially figured the fire could be managed without affecting nearby neighborhoods because the winds were blowing west, into the park’s roughly one million acres. Mr. Anderson even considered allowing some extra acres to burn, as he often does with fires caused by lightning.

“The Everglades dies without fire,” he said, noting that the ash offers some of the only nutrients available. So his first thought was how to make the blaze serve the ecosystem. His second thought was how to keep the fire from the seaside sparrows’ nests.

Then on the afternoon of May 15, the winds shifted north and east, toward a prison on the park’s edge and the outer rings of South Miami-Dade County. Suddenly, the emphasis became people and property.

Miami-Dade firefighters began going door to door to make sure families knew the fire might be coming. Several hundred prisoners were evacuated, and a handful of schools closed temporarily or canceled outside recess because of smoke.

More than 200 firefighters worked up to 16-hour days to fight the blaze. At one point, park officials said they persuaded the South Florida Water Management District and the Army Corps of Engineers to push more water into the park. But it was not enough.

“Even with all the water they let in, it didn’t do much because the water levels were so low,” said David E. Hallac, chief of the biological resources branch. He pointed to a canal nearby that showed dry, crusty earth three feet down.

So eventually, officials turned to fire retardants, dropped near the park’s northeastern corner. It was a break with policy that park officials are hoping did only minimal damage because they were heavily diluted.

And a planned fire from a year ago also seems to have played a role in keeping the latest blaze from spreading to more residential areas. By denying the blaze fresh fuel, it helped firefighters keep the fire on one side of a road near the park’s boundary.

Inside that area on Thursday, scientists in yellow fireproof shirts carried clipboards and cameras to the clusters of trees where the park’s biodiversity is concentrated. Mr. Hallac and his team emerged with evidence of both life and death. The trees had been burned to a dry rust or dark black. Mr. Hallac said he saw a scorched turtle that might have survived had there been a puddle of water for it to hide in.

But a lizard also slid past him and green sprouts of grass could be seen in areas that had been on fire only a few days ago.

As helicopters with firefighters or water passed overhead, the scientists said they were still trying to figure out the mix of positive and negative consequences.

It was unclear how the seaside sparrow fared, and no one could say for sure whether the invasive plants that had been killed by the fire would return. Everglades National Park had once again been altered by man and was in the process of moving on.

“This thing is alive,” Mr. Anderson said of the park. “It’s always changing, and any change from outside kicks it another direction. This environment is dynamic as hell.”

Point Reyes has been termed the second foggiest place on the North American continent. There were numerous shipwrecks with not only loss of cargo, but of lives also. The building of a lighthouse was extremely important and was finished in 1870.

Lighthouses provide mariners some safety by warning them of rocky shores and reefs. They also help mariners navigate by indicating their location as ships travel along the coast. Mariners recognize lighthouses by their unique flash pattern. On days when it is too foggy to see the lighthouse, a fog signal is essential. Fog signals sound an identifying pattern to signal the location to the passing ships. Unfortunately, the combination of lighthouses and fog signals does not eliminate the tragedy of shipwrecks.

Because of this ongoing problem, a lifesaving station was established on the Great Beach north of the lighthouse in 1890. Men walked the beaches in four-hour shifts, watching for shipwrecks and the people who would need rescue from frigid waters and powerful currents. A new lifesaving station was opened in 1927 on Drakes Bay near Chimney Rock and was active until 1968. Today, it is a National Historic Landmark and can be viewed from the Chimney Rock Trail.

The lens in the Point Reyes Lighthouse is a "first order" Fresnel (fray-nel) lens, the largest size of Fresnel lens. Augustin Jean Fresnel of France revolutionized optics theories with his new lens design in 1823.

Before Fresnel developed this lens, lighthouses used mirrors to reflect light out to sea. The most effective lighthouses could only be seen eight to twelve miles away. After his invention, the brightest lighthouses could be seen all the way to the horizon, about twenty-four miles.

The Fresnel lens intensifies the light by bending (or refracting) and magnifying the source light through crystal prisms into concentrated beams. The Point Reyes lens is divided into twenty-four vertical panels, which direct the light into twenty-four individual beams. A counterweight and gears similar to those in a grandfather clock rotate the 6000-pound lens at a constant speed, one revolution every two minutes. This rotation makes the beams sweep over the ocean surface like the spokes of a wagon wheel, and creates the Point Reyes signature pattern of one flash every five seconds.

Keeping the lighthouse in working condition was a twenty-four hour job. The light was lit only between sunset and sunrise, but there was work to do all day long. The head keeper and three assistants shared the load in four six-hour shifts.

Every evening, a half-hour before sunset, a keeper walked down the wooden stairs to light the oil lamp, the lighthouse's source of illumination. Once the lamp was lit, the keeper wound the clockwork mechanism, lifting a 170 pound weight, which was attached to the clockwork mechanism by a hemp rope, nine feet off the floor. The earth's gravity would then pull the weight, through a small trap door, to the ground level 17 feet below. The clockwork mechanism was built to provide resistance so that it would take two hours and twenty minutes for the weight to descend the 17 feet. And as the weight descended and the clockwork mechanism's gears spun, the Fresnel lens would turn so that the light appeared to flash every five seconds. In addition to winding the clockwork mechanism every two-hours and twenty minutes throughout the night, the keeper had to keep the lamp wicks trimmed so that the light would burn steadily and efficiently, thus the nickname "wickie."

Daytime duties for the keepers included cleaning the lens, polishing the brass, stoking the steam-powered fog signal and making necessary repairs. At the end of each shift, the keeper trudged back up the wooden staircase. Sometimes the winds were so strong that he had to crawl on his hands and knees to keep from being knocked down. The highest wind speed recorded at Point Reyes was 133 M.P.H., and 60 M.P.H. winds are common.

The hard work, wind, fog and isolation at Point Reyes made this an undesirable post. Even so, one keeper stayed for about twenty-four years, a testament to his devotion and love of Point Reyes!

The lighthouse was replaced after 105 years of service. Today everything is automated as this is more cost effective. The lighthouse still stands in its original spot and can be toured while visiting Point Reyes National Seashore.

What is a sneaker wave and why are they potentially dangerous? A sneaker wave is an unexpectedly large wave, higher, stronger and reaching farther up the beach to levels far beyond where the normal waves reach. Beach goers, particularly children, can quickly be caught in the rip current and pulled out to deep water. If the person can not escape the current, they may drown. This has occurred numerous times at Point Reyes National Seashore beaches. Sneaker waves also have the ability to toss around large driftwood logs that may fall on a person, injuring or even killing them.

Even though the ocean may appear calm, there is still the potential for sneaker waves. Larger waves, moving fast, pick up smaller waves and carry them toward the beach. Some people erroneously think that sneaker waves can be predicted, i.e., every fourth or fifth wave, but in truth they are unpredictable. They can occur at any time, day or night, during incoming and outgoing tides, during storms and during sunny calm weather.

How to avoid sneaker waves:

Never turn your back on the surf. Stay at least thirty yards away from the water on beaches facing the open ocean, particularly the Great Beach (North and South beaches), McClures Beach and Kehoe Beach in Point Reyes. Watch out for sneaker waves.

Sneaker waves are often preceded by a sudden lowering of the water level. Supervise children at all times. Avoid slippery rocks. Rock outcrops can be slippery from mist, rain, or spray. Large waves can knock people off rock outcrops and severely injure them or knock them unconscious. Stay away from rocky areas, particularly during storms, high tide, or tidal changes.

Avoid logs and debris. Sneaker waves are strong enough to take the biggest log and toss it on you. Stay away from logs in surf or wet sand. Do not sit or stand on logs. Keep children away from logs and large debris.

Playing at the beach can be great fun, but it always pays to be cautious and be informed of potential dangers in the area you are visiting. Most Visitor Centers of national parks will have information about possible dangers in their area. Resorts should also be able to let you know about areas of caution.

In Yukon-Charley Rivers National Preserve there are several cabins available to the wandering backpacker where he or she can stay for the night free of charge, some of which were built by the brave souls that dared to make their leaving in rugged Alaska. One of these structures was built by a unique individual. It is uncertain whether all of his buildings are gone or if the NPS had rebuilt some of these. As of the date of this posting, I was unable to reach the park to ask for this information. Continue reading to learn more about James Taylor and no, it’s not the singer. more...

To learn more about the possibility of a volcanic eruption, we are going to look at Lassen Volcano National Park as our example. Before Mt. St. Helens erupted, Lassen was the last volcano to erupt in the Cascade Mountain range. more...

Mining techniques are generally divided into two categories: placer mining and lode mining. more...

Here are some interesting questions and answers about Devils Tower National Monument. This is a great place to get in some excellent rock climbing. To learn more about this unique place, check out Adventure-Crew.com at this link: Devils Tower

Is it part of an old volcano?- One scientific hypothesis states that Devils Tower is the neck of a small volcano.  Another theory says that it is part of a laccolith.  A third theory is that Devils Tower is a plutonic plug - an igneous intrusion that failed to reach the surface.

Is it hollow?- No!  You could compare it to a bunch of pencils held together by gravity.

What kind of rock is it? - Phonolite porphyry, it is similar in composition to granite but lacks quartz.  Phonolite refers to the ringing of the rock when a small slab is struck, and its ability to reflect sound.  Porphyry refers to its texture, large crystals of feldspar embedded in a mass of smaller crystals.

How often do the columns fall?- There have been no major falls since we have a history of it (200 years).

The peak visitation times are May through September.

With 80 Americans killed each year by lightning strikes, it pays to be informed of good safety tips. Keep reading to be prepared the next time you find yourself in an electrical storm or it finds you!  Corie Marks, Staff Writer

Lightning strikes the earth as often as 2,000 times an hour in the United States. Every year an average of 80 Americans are killed by lightning. Most deaths occur in the late summer, a time when thunderclouds boil over the horizon and when many people vacation out-of-doors.

On a hot summer day, heat rises from the ground and travels upward into the clear sky. As the air rises, it cools. Moisture in the air condenses, forming the ice crystals and water droplets that give shape to towering cumulonimbus clouds. These condensation particles cool and fall through the rising warmer air; they then warm and rise again as other particles fall, creating turbulent currents with speeds of up to 100 miles per hour. As the particles rush through the air, they lose or gain electrons, becoming positively or negatively charged. For reasons not clearly understood, the positively charged particles gather at the top of the cloud, while the negatively charged particles gather at the bottom.

As the cloud moves over the earth, its negatively charged underside induces a positive charge in the ground. It is this charge you experience when your hair stands on end; you may also hear humming or sizzling, or experience a tingling sensation. Tall objects may glow with a blue light known as St. Elmo’s Fire. These are all signs that a lightning strike is immanent.

A lightning bolt heats the air within its channel to temperatures in excess of 50,000 degrees F. The air explodes, creating a supersonic shock wave. As the wave slows to the speed of sound, you hear thunder. Because sound travels at a rate of roughly 1,000 feet per second, you can determine your distance from the strike by counting the seconds between the lightning flash and when you hear thunder. Dividing by 5 gives the distance in miles. Although this may help you determine your margin of safety, it can be difficult to be sure that the thunder you hear originates from the lightning you saw. Remember too that while the sky may be blue directly above you, lightning can strike several miles from its source cloud. Whenever you hear thunder, you are close enough to be hit by lightning. Lightning danger persists as long as 30 minutes after you hear the last thunderclap.

When lightning strikes a tree, the sap flashes into steam and the tree explodes. When lightning strikes a human being, the effects are less dramatic, but still potentially fatal. Victims of lightning strikes are almost always knocked unconscious; intense muscle contractions often throw them to the ground, causing broken bones or other injuries. Burns may be internal or external, light or severe. Most lightning deaths occur because the lightning interrupts the electrical impulse that regulates the heartbeat. The result is cardiac arrest.

Lightning has been known to strike the same place, and even the same person, more than once. Your best option is to avoid the first strike.

Outdoors

Avoid exposed areas like mountaintops and scenic overlooks where you are the tallest object.

Get out of and away from open water.

Put down umbrellas, golf clubs, and other objects that may act as lightning rods.

If at all possible, take shelter in an enclosed building or in an all-metal vehicle with the windows rolled up. Avoid contact with metal components of the vehicle. Convertibles, small sheds in open areas, and open-sided picnic shelters will not protect you from lightning.

If you cannot reach a car or building, stay away from metal conductors such as fence lines, metal pipes, and rails which may carry lightning from a distance.

Do not stand beneath natural lightning rods such as tall trees. In a forest, seek shelter in groves of shorter trees or in low-lying areas.

Move to a low place, such as a valley, but be alert for the possibility of flooding.

Caves and crevices may not be safe shelters—moisture in their walls and floors can conduct electricity.

If no shelter is available, do not lie flat on the ground.  Crouch with your feet together and your hands over your ears to minimize hearing damage from thunderclaps. Stay at least 15 feet away from other people so that lightning does not jump between you.

Indoors

During electrical storms, avoid contact with electrical wiring, plumbing, or telephone lines, which may act as conduits for lightning striking the house. This is not a good time to take a bath or a shower.

Victims of lightning strikes do not carry an electric charge and should be assisted immediately. If the victim is not breathing, provide mouth-to-mouth resuscitation; if their heart has stopped beating, administer CPR. For other victims, check for and treat burns, and monitor for shock. All victims of lightning strike require advanced medical attention.

Sources:NPS

If you’ve read enough of our park pages, you will notice that Giardia warnings are fairly frequent in the national parks. So what in the world is it?

Giardia is a parasite found in contaminated water. It actually has two forms: a dormant cyst and a trophozite, the disease-forming one. Since the cysts are hardy little buggers, they can survive even very cold water. When someone ingests the cyst, it changes into a trophozite, attaching itself on the intestinal wall and living off the “fat-of-the-land”. Now some of these are carried out with feces, but they often end up contaminating other water sources, thus spreading the organism. The treatment is antibiotics.

The symptoms can take from 7-10 days to show up and usually by that time, the victim is already back home. The victim usually has flu like symptoms which make them forget that they were out in the wilderness and could have possibly ingested contaminated water. Also, not everyone gets sick from the cysts, confusing the diagnosis even further. You can usually expect explosive diarrhea, bloating and cramps, horrible gas, severe vomiting, weight loss, and loss of appetite. If not treated, you could end up with long-term gastrointestinal problems.

The best bet is prevention. Treat all water sources by boiling for at least one minute, using water purification systems or chemical treatments. Follow all rules about distance from water sources for camping and stock use. When possible, bring your own water.