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Wednesday, July 9, 2008
Hot Time in the Old Town Tonight
Well, today turned out to be an exciting day in Missoula. Our biggest landmark, Mount Sentinel, caught on fire about 7 p.m.
A friend called to tell me, and I was actually on campus doing some work, so I drove over and took a few pictures. Yep, me and a few hundred other rubberneckers. I even saw a guy kicking back in a lawn chair. The whole town was out watching the show tonight.
The last report I heard on the television news said the fire had burned about 250 acres and "two juveniles" were being investigated. I'd guess fireworks.
And here the Fourth of July came and went without any fires. We had such a wet winter and spring -- and there's still green in the hills -- that I'm actually surprised the fire spread so quickly.
This particular fire doesn't pose any danger to human life -- other than perhaps the firefighters on the line -- or structures. There's nothing up there to burn. It's going to leave a big, ugly scar for a year or two, though.
posted by Patia 11:27 PM
Comments:
Mt Sentinel has always been in the front line in the battle against idiots with matches. It's a shame that all Missoula will have to be in constant reminding of this over the next few summers.
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posted by 
Izzy Buck : July 10, 2008 8:05 AM
Glad no one was hurt and there was no property damage. Reminds me of the big Griffith Park fire we had here last year. The hills still look scarred and damaged a year later. Hope those brats are taught a good lesson.
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posted by solson : July 10, 2008 8:46 AM
A friend called me too, and we walked along the base of the mountain getting pictures. Everyone was sitting on blankets in the grass. Sad, but this was more entertaining than the fireworks I watched from my deck on the Fourth.
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posted by Tiffany : July 10, 2008 9:49 AM
Thanks, all, for commenting.
The latest news is that it was started by a couple of seven-year-olds playing with a lighter and a phone book.
Sad.
But yes, it will bounce back quickly. Part of Sentinel burned a few years back, and you can't even tell now.
posted by
The latest news is that it was started by a couple of seven-year-olds playing with a lighter and a phone book.
Sad.
But yes, it will bounce back quickly. Part of Sentinel burned a few years back, and you can't even tell now.
posted by Patia : July 10, 2008 10:50 AM
LOVE your new format; LOVE your stories (Mt Sentinel and Starbucks' hussy! :) How you find time to do those wondefully structured stories mystifies me. Great pix, too.
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posted by Barb : July 10, 2008 12:06 PM
Yeah, it's all grass. I know plenty of people who have rebounded quickly from burning a bunch of grass.
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posted by Chris : July 10, 2008 12:34 PM
Barb: Ha, I DON'T have the time. I should be working .... Actually, what I really want is to get paid to do this kind of writing -- informative features with a personal voice. It's what I love.
Chris: Yeah, by next summer it'll start looking decent again.
They seem to have gotten the fire out today. I sure hope so, because it is REALLY windy tonight. (Good thing this blaze started last night instead of tonight. It'd be to Bonner by now.)
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Chris: Yeah, by next summer it'll start looking decent again.
They seem to have gotten the fire out today. I sure hope so, because it is REALLY windy tonight. (Good thing this blaze started last night instead of tonight. It'd be to Bonner by now.)
posted by Patia : July 10, 2008 11:36 PM
It's a little sad to see Sentinel all black like that though. We've had three fire calls here in the last two days too. Nothing that big, but they're all a lot of work.
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posted by 
montucky : July 11, 2008 7:50 PM
I had five calls asking me if it was my kids had started the fire! LOL WTH?!!
:) I was one of those kicking back in the yard watching.
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:) I was one of those kicking back in the yard watching.
posted by Maggie : July 13, 2008 5:57 PM
Great pics, Patia. I wonder about the weeds....if it is at the wrong time the seed heads could have burst and spread. Or, maybe all that knapweed is toast. But then, all of this fallow earth prime and ready to receive other weed seeds....it'll be interesting to see what happens.
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posted by dig this chick : July 13, 2008 10:29 PM
hey, what do you think of the new New Yorker cover?!
http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2008/07/barack-obama-an.html
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http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/thedishrag/2008/07/barack-obama-an.html
posted by dig this chick : July 14, 2008 2:27 PM
Montucky: It is kind of sad-looking. I forgot, you're a volunteer firefighter, aren't you?
Maggie: That's hilarious! (WAS it them?)
Nici: I think the New Yorker cover is an excellent piece of satire poking fun at the idiots who believe and promote all the xenophobic, racist, right-wing lies about Barack and Michelle Obama. Unfortunately, I also think the satire will go completely over the heads of most people. (See idiots, above.)
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Maggie: That's hilarious! (WAS it them?)
Nici: I think the New Yorker cover is an excellent piece of satire poking fun at the idiots who believe and promote all the xenophobic, racist, right-wing lies about Barack and Michelle Obama. Unfortunately, I also think the satire will go completely over the heads of most people. (See idiots, above.)
posted by Patia : July 14, 2008 5:56 PM
Hi Patia - I love your new blog layout - so sharp!
And does this mean there will be hundreds of morel mushrooms on Mt. Sentinel next year? Because I may just have to move back...
Hope things are going well for you.
posted by
And does this mean there will be hundreds of morel mushrooms on Mt. Sentinel next year? Because I may just have to move back...
Hope things are going well for you.
posted by Anna : July 14, 2008 7:26 PM
That will be an eye sore for a while. Peoples stupidity makes me angry and sad all at the same time. Especially in a place so pretty.
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posted by Moosekahl : July 14, 2008 10:14 PM
Anna: Thank you! I think Mount Sentinel may be too dry to get morels; they seem to like a bit of shade and dampness to germinate. I could be wrong. But we'd love for you to move back to Missoula anyway!
Moose: Yeah, it's sad, but in the grand scheme of things, it's just a scar that will fade in time. I look at Mount Sentinel and I see eons. Compared to the ancient shorelines of Glacial Lake Missoula, a grass fire is nothing.
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Moose: Yeah, it's sad, but in the grand scheme of things, it's just a scar that will fade in time. I look at Mount Sentinel and I see eons. Compared to the ancient shorelines of Glacial Lake Missoula, a grass fire is nothing.
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