Spooky.

maybe thats past tense at the moment.

Man has prevented forest fires for so long that once they burn, they really burn.

We were frequent visitors to Yellowstone and were in the park during the great fires of 1988. It looked like the park would burn completely to the ground. By the next year everything was green again and new trees began sprouting immediately. They were not the 100' tall specimens lost in the fire, but it was interesting watching those trees grow. Our oldest daughter was born the year before, we have pictures of her next to trees in Yellowstone from after the fire until she was in High School, they show who quickly the forest regenerates after these seemingly devastating events.

The biggest loss is the personal belongings and homes and of course in the extreme event, loss of life. That is the risk one takes living among such beauty, same as those living on the Gulf coast have dealt with the flooding this week.

Mother Nature still has the upper hand.

This allows certain species and seeds to replenish and become active again, and might, just might, point out that global climate change is not just for breakfast anymore.

She works for the parks dept and she was describing the project
she's working on, where forests are being groomed and cut in
such a way that there's less deadwood to burn, and more breaks in the
forest, so fires must slow down and become easier to contain.

She was emphasizing the importance of the fires, but as you
were saying, there's just too much there waiting to ignite.
My daughter was "pre-evacuated" from her neighborhood in
Boulder because the fire there was threatening.. it just had
started with a bolt of lightening.

Some of the forest creatures even eat the burned parts
of the forest. When the grasses etc. come back after a big
burn, lots of little critters move in, there is lots of food for
hunting birds, and more..
And NM is a fire trap.

made it out.

There's danger to his health in the ash and the stress. Evacuation takes a heavy toll on people and pets. Especially anyone with underlying health issues.

scientists were surprised to find species of plants that weren't present in those same areas before the fire.

The changing weather patterns have disrupted the normal rainfall patterns. Long dry spells increase the opportunity for wild fires. The 'weather weirding' we are experiencing can be traced to human activities.

on this - as for years now the pine beetle has been turning our forests into dry, dry, kindling.

and extreme heat/lack of enough winter cold. It normally doesn't kill anywhere near this many trees - it's a normal part of the ecosystem and not anything new. What's new is how many trees have been weakened, allowing the beetle to get the upper hand.

in front of this background and play his tape where he says he wants to fire the firefighters.

The next Obama campaign ad.

It's not exactly the Superdome, but when game attendance hits the tens of thousands, you do need a place to put everybody.

I don't know about the relative sizes, but that doesn't look like the best angle to judge. I don't see the academy's chapel, which is pretty distinctive, so that view doesn't show everything.

The cadets play at Michie Stadium. The midshipmen play at the Navy-Marine Corps Stadium.
They have many teams for both men and women in many sports. Many of them are varsity sports and compete in NCAA events.

This is considered part of the collegiate experince as well as a great recruiting tool. I have no problem with it. The students who compete carry a staggering academic load as well as their athletic schedule. Choosing to attend these institutions should not deprive them of this experience.

In addition, FB revenue and donations to athletics pay for mamy non-revenue sports.

Once accepted, all student expenses are paid for by the government, to be reimbursed by the graduates in service to their country.

which in turn in used to support student sports.

I should have been specific. The military academies are different.

And if you are really serious that you have no idea how sports relate to the military, then we have no common language available to continue the conversation.

All expense paid vacation? ONLY service?

You honestly think four years at one of the toughest schools in the nation is a vacation?

I don't even have words for the "service" comment.

What the hell does Rutgers have to do with the Academy teams?

If we want the pinnacle of educational achievement in this country to be a Doctorate of Recess, If we wish to chart our advancement as a species by the skill level of football, basketball or kick the can its our damn right.

On top of the rest of that stuff.

Rmoney may fire some more firefighters now

Here's your gold star...

God has 'withdrawn his protection' from the Air Force Academy b/c of the military's repeal of DADT.

I swear, you can't make this shit up!

I was listening to a phone call at a friends last night as she tried to convince her sister to evacuate before it became to late. Apparently the roads are clogged and the fire is moving all over. Then the call dropped and her sister texted that they were being asked to limit cell use in the areas. Really scary!

If not, source?

Photo via Twitter user @FSUKilroy. I'm not the OP but accreditation should be given.

Even more impt. re- factual political statements, of course.

Where is Pike's Peak? I had always loved that stretch of road...I-25 going alongside the Academy. Always viewed it as God's paradise. (no pun intended) Our beautiful state is ablaze.

It looks like a volcano.

I'm terrified of fire.

A nighttime shot would be much worse. The fire looks like it is on top of you at night.

This is worse than the fires back a few years ago in CA. I remember it raining ash on me.

WOW.

And from this the forest will come back.

from Lord of the Rings movie, except in the movie it was a volcano erupting and spewing an ash cloud.