Out in the field!

I swear I've been busier in the last 4 weeks than I have been in two months. With a long, wet spring this year, the fire season has been compacted into August and now into September. Lots of fires lately and even some huge puppies: LaBrea and Station.

Last week I had the opportunity to leave the busy office and do some field work. I visited the 2008 Cold Springs Fire outside Trout Lake, WA. Our purpose was to collect CBI (composite burn index) data on around 40 field plots. Me and a co-worker from my office met up with the godfathers of CBI (Nate Benson and Carl Key) and some Gifford Pinchot National Forest employees for the week.

The fire burned on the slopes of 12,000' Mt. Adams, one of the major volcanic peaks along the Cascades (think of Rainier, Hood, and St. Helens). In our travels back and for from our motel to the field, we noticed this property for sale. It's 1.77 acres with Trout Creek running along the back of the property, septic system already installed, and city services available for use. This picture shows the view from the property looking north towards Mt. Adams. Great property if you want to thrown down $325,000 and live in the shadow of an active volcano!

Oh, another thing: on our first day of the trip, we attended a meeting in Hood River, OR with the Mt. Hood and Gifford Pinchot NFs. I gave an hour-long talk about geospatial tools available for fire suppression, emergency rehab, and long term monitoring. As soon as I finished, one of the guys in the audience stood up and offered a statement and gifts. He offered a Certificate of Merit signed by the Mt. Hood National Forest Supervisor, as well as a coffee table book about Mt. Hood. Then a guy from the Gifford Pinchot NF stood up and gave me a hat with the Gifford Pinchot centennial emblem on it. It was completely unexpected, yet very much appreciated. The funny thing is that I've really only mapped about 3 fires between the two forests in the last 5 years.