Been keeping a close eye on the news coverage of the fires in Roanoke County. When we hiked at Mill Mountain on Sunday we could see the plumes of smoke from the raging blaze. Monday night we took Gretta for a walk and could see one of the firelines from my house. I felt an overwhelming sense of sadness. As of this writing, the fire is only 30% contained and the wind has returned. We had some rain earlier today but I'm not sure it did much to help things.
The news release at 4:45 p.m. today mentioned that 50 National Guard members hand dug a fireline along......Gauntlet... which probably means everything on the Timerview side of the Cove has burned or will burn...which potentially could mean Trough, upper Hi Dee Hoe, Buck, Horsepen, and Gauntlet may no longer exist....ok..that's all speculation but it really puts a sick feeling in my gut...and to think at one point we were joking about the bears tearing up the signs. I hope they came out of hibernation to get the heck outta there!
Yes, I realize they are only trails and this is nature's way of taking care of things.. Fortunately no homes have been lost, nor have any individuals been injured. We have to thank the brave folks who have been out there battling this blaze which has burned over 2400 acres thus far..yes 2400 acres...that's a lot of land, trees, dirt, grass, leaves...
Don't know when the Cove will re-open so we can assess what's happening with the trails. At this point we can only wait and continue to keep the firefighters in our prayers as they battle.
I'm sort of rambling about nothing in this blog. I guess I just needed to write down how I'm feeling about it. Pretty bummed out....
3 comments:
Don't dispair too much. They probably dug the fireline along side of Gauntlet. Looking at the maps I've seen in comparison to my own I'd guess the only endangered ones are Trough, Horse Pen, upper part of Hidee and maybe Buck. Gauntlet looks like it's the boundary on that side of the fire. I'm bummed about those because I just got to ride them and said I'd be back to reride them and the logs on Horse Pen and the "two plank bridge." Who knows if they will even be there.
I'm bummed about the trees and such, but some of them will be resilient and survive. The burning of the underbrush is often more healthy in the long run. I'm sure the bulldozers will leave a mark though.
I think they've got a good handle on it now - the rain helped some. Once it's all done, we'll all have to work together to clean up those trails affected. It will be interesting the see the final results, but yea it is a bummer!
Duh I repeated half of what you already said. I'm so stupid... I need exercise today... Too much computer between work and home today. AHHHHHHHH!
Later P
Paula--
I did not see an option anywhere to email you, so I will just put out there for everyone to read!
My name is Sara and I recently moved to the area. I was at eastcoasters getting some gear and I was told that I should come to your blog and get in touch with you.
I am looking for people to join riding! I don't know a whole lot people yet and the ones I know, do not ride.
Was curious if you could fill me in on the culture here:-) my email is sara.rechnitzer@gmail.com.
Look forward to hearing from you!
Post a Comment