Most likely our sheriff, Mike Downey, and Governor Brown had the tsunami in mind when they declared the emergency. Their timing, however, cooincides perfectly with a very large landslide appearing on our ranch. Think I'll send off for one of them "forms". (Of course, we realize this isn't a real emergency in light of all the recent events, but perhaps the humor will lighten the load a bit. Lets continue to pray for all those with real emergencies, and share the load locally.)
The PROBLEM, starting at the top. (At the very top left you can see a much smaller "cliff". We discovered that one a few years ago while hiking with Boy Scouts.) The rest of the damage has opened up in only the last few days.
Where there was a long, steady, boring slope... much more interesting features are forming.
The road doesn't really line up anymore. Thankfully, you can't confuse water... the creek still flows downhill.
Actually, the entire slide is flowing downhill.
Amusing myself playing Indiana Jones on the old road surface. Hmmm, perhaps a tourist attraction? Some of the cracks were 10 to 15 feet deep.
So far the creek is hauling away whatever invades it's territory. Probably not too good for the fish and everything else that breathes underwater.
Some of us are more resistant to change than others. ( Or, perhaps like this tree, we only partially accept the change and divide our lives. Working short-term, perhaps, but some change is inevitable.) Meanwhile the resilience of the part of this tree which holds on in the wrenching of tragedy reminds me of some people I know. And today, the citizens of Japan.
Oh My Goodness! Kind of makes you realize how small and weak we humans are in light of all the recent natural disasters doesn't it?
ReplyDeleteHope you get your roads lined back up and not too much washes away.
Brenda
Wow, you could have said those were pictures of an earthquake and I would have believed you.
ReplyDeleteDan
Wow... I always thought you guys cut way too much firewood and didn't do enough to reforest your land.
ReplyDeleteI guess this proves. Next time you think you are being a good steward of the land... Rethink that...
Of course like most this is probably too close to home and hits your personal identity so hard that I'd be willing to be that you'll deny all responsibility for all the ruin that your land is turning into.
WOW!...(?)..I lived in the coast rang for many years and when that ground gets wet it slides "with or without trees"..
ReplyDeleteHere in Colorado we don't get much in the way of mud/ground slides, trees or not. We only have about 18 inches of rain per year, and there is less than a foot of soil on the granite that makes up our mountains.
ReplyDeleteLucky us.
Bill
Deann, We invite you to come over and check it out, no logging or firewood cutting in the area. It had nothing to do with it, but it sounds like you are biased. Again, give us a call and come over. Bring an engineer if you like. All of Humboldt is very unstable ground. This took place in a prairie and below is unlogged ground, it is pretty steep. The road was built in the 50's, again,we had nothing to do with it. But when disaster hits, somebody wants to always blame someone.
ReplyDeleteThat's amazing. And very scary.
ReplyDeleteI love your answer to Deane - you handled it with much more class than I would have.
It's astounding that so much earth could just shift and fall away. Stay safe and be careful playing Indiana Jones!
Thanks Gun Diva. We do though understand where Deane is coming from because historically some of the land slides that have occurred here have been caused from poor logging practices. It just doesn't appear to be in this case.
ReplyDeleteThat's a huge landslide! Wow. Crazy. I want to see more!! Keep us posted as to what happens.
ReplyDeleteDeane - another example of someone commenting not knowing the true situation. It's easy to assume a lot and cast misguided blame.
Deane, I'm a neighbor across the canyon. I can confirm what Mark and Tj tell you.
ReplyDeleteWe've been looking at the slide and wishing we could see it close up though. Thanks for the photos.
Amazing pictures and praying it all works out. I have to say I was apauled by deane comment. I grew up in oregon and we did see problems with landslides from improper logging when I was younger, but we have seen many, many more landslides where no logging was and the trees just came with. Also we in oregon found where forests were not maintained and logged out some that there was to many trees and the roots didn't have anywhere to go to anchor themselves so they would be super shallow and cause lots of problems with blowing over during wind storms and then becoming a huge fire danger. Deane may have a point in some instances but I agree that you should know the situation before you accuse people. I hope the road can be fixed quickly. How crazy!!
ReplyDelete"Don't confuse me with the facts, I've already made up my mind"
ReplyDeleteBrenda ;)
I read somewhere that our mountains grow on a similar pace as the Himalayas;...however, they suffer way more erosion, hence the difference in size.
ReplyDeleteAmerican said it best with the quote. People are always out to hate someone, which is only an insecurity that lies deep within their personal identity, somewhere...
ReplyDeleteLove you Mom & Dad, stay safe and come back and visit us soon!
Wow!!! That's amazing. I can see what Mark was describing... It looks so normal until you realize the road is not matching up anymore. And that tree! That's a lot of force.
ReplyDelete