Posted on 07/13/2025 3:02:35 PM PDT by hiho hiho
That’s true and winter when there is snow on the ground
Manage the vegetation or lose the structure. That’s all there is to it.
There is no excuse for this. It is a testament to the ignorance and dysfunction of the Park Service. There are people who should be fired, to which I would add criminal negligence if I could.
It’s not about burning the grasses. The grasses are annuals and the snow flattens them to the ground and begins the process of making mulch out of them.
What they’re trying to burn off in a controlled burn are low-lying brushy plants like sagebrush, mountain mahogany, bush type junipers, and downed dead trees. The stuff that fuels fires big enough to get into the trees.
That’s how they do it here anyway in the dry East Slope Rockies in northern CO.
“...Is there a hint of DEI in this situation?...”
Yeah. It really does have that “stench” to it...would not be the least bit surprising.
Anybody who can't see what's going to happen as a fire approaches this structure is brain dead. The windows will blow out and it will burn from the inside. Once the roof catches, that's it.
The crime is in allowing the vegetative density to get to this point. The insult to the people who built this work of art is beyond remedy.
LOL!
Well, because of the elevation, it couldn’t have been mor than a hundred degrees or so.
Spent our honeymoon there 48 years ago, it was a classy place then.
Now they can put in a couple of low income hotels.
My brother and I took our dad from the south rim to Phantom Ranch on mules for his 80th birthday as he did for Grandpa.
It was snowing in March as we left and 70 F at the bottom.
After a few nights we headed back up. The mules are amazing but will lock up if they see a shimmering puddle. Something about snakes. Repeated the next year with the wife. Definitely qualifies for the Big Bucket List.
Sierra Club forced them to use this dangerous method of fire prevention. Forest fire good, chainsaw bad.
East Slope...always thought it was Front Range or Western Slope.
Boulder ‘69-’74. Spent one summer strapping down trailers in north Boulder so they didn’t tumble when the wind picked up a bit.
I stayed at El,Tovar on the south rim just one time. It was New Years Eve and New Years Day 1974-1975. It was wonderful in the dead of winter! Thank goodness it wasn’t destroyed.
Unbelievable. Was there literally tuesday night and wednesday.
The Sierra Club might sue, but they have no such power. Unless it was a Federal judge or magistrate who made such an order, the Park Service was at liberty to ignore the Club.
This is a crying shame. This tragic event reinforces the real doubts I have about the quality of National Park Service management. The North Rim facility was a treasure and one of the last true old school Grand Canyon experiences. It was a bit like traveling back in time. I cannot help but be somewhat suspicious about the application of fire management techniques as opposed to active fire suppression tactics. I saw the results of fire management on the drive into the North Rim just a few years ago. Miles and miles and miles of forest were just allowed to burn. I think it was referred to as allowing nature to take its course.
“I cannot even go to South Rim, it is just so crowded now.”
It was crowded but still amazing. Great shuttle system once we found parking.
We found a lot of great uncrowded views on the uncrowded trails near the drop off points.
Niece is in Broomfield. She and her family were on Pearl St.
(guess it’s a mall now) the night after the wack job was tossing Molotov cocktails.
Yeah, I actually visited the north rim before ever visiting the south. I was camping out of my car, and asked the guy behind the counter at a convenience store if there was a way to get there. In the winter. He went at looked at my car for a second or two, and then explained what roads to take. A place called Crazy Jug point. Not the greatest view point to be had but it was all to myself. What’s interesting about the canyon, from many approaches one would never know anything untoward is lying just over the horizon, until you actually get right on it. It must have been quite a shock to early explorers. And a real pain in the you know what, if you’re trying to get somewhere.
Keep an eye out for other National Parks, Monuments, and historic sites being hit by “wildfires.”
The Sierra Club has sued the Forest Service into this dangerous method. They are a terrorist group.
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