Don’t be that guy: have fun responsibly during fire season

By Liv Stecker

Fire season is in full swing in the Inland Northwest, and with temperatures reaching Arizona Desert highs later this week and no rain in sight, firefighters don’t have the weather on their side in the battle against forces of nature. Some of the most popular recreational spots in Eastern Washington are closed because of threatening fires. Campgrounds like those at Noisy Creek on Sullivan Lake that have sites reserved months in advance are closed, probably for the remainder of the season. Access to hiking trails, including the popular Pacific Northwest Trail, is limited or cut off altogether in places, rerouting through-hikers dozens of miles in roundabout detours.

While Sullivan Lake remains open to boaters, firefighters operating on the lake’s edge are concerned as the interested public drifts dangerously close to active fire and the occasional keg-sized boulder that tumbles off the hillside into the lake. Helicopter pilots maneuver buckets around boats on the lake while campers take video from the shore. It is a sight to behold, for sure, but the closer that spectators get to the action, the more risk that firefighters and the public face in the ever-changing context of an active wildfire. During the weekend, visitors to the fire area near Noisy Creek were double parked along a single lane bridge, impeding fire traffic and compromising access routes, until local Law Enforcement stepped in to break up the impromptu party.

Noisy Creek Fire on July 31, 3017

Closing campgrounds, trails, lakes and other recreational areas is truly a last resort for most agencies. If closures happen, it is to ensure that the number one objective of every fire manager and agency administrator is achieved: public and firefighter safety. Not respecting closures creates risk for both the violator and the firefighter on the line, but using common sense and a little bit of situational awareness as the recreating public can help put off official closures a little bit longer. Sometimes, campers don’t have access to the information they need once they leave cell range and wifi connectivity. Always check information boards and kiosks at campgrounds and boat launches when you arrive, and when possible, get online and check agency websites for your preferred recreational spot for updates. “Know before you go” is a good mantra to live by if you like to hang out in the woods.

As of Sunday morning, August 6, the Colville National Forest goes into Stage II Fire Restrictions, (follow the Colville National Forest on Twitter @Colville_NF to get updates) which means no campfires, even in designated campsites and improved fire rings, no charcoal or pellet grills or smokers and no chainsaw use in certain zones on the forest. The Fire Danger Rating is high in Stevens, Pend Oreille and Ferry Counties, and by the weekend, that could be upgraded as well. Where you fire up your generator, flick your cigarette ash or park your car could have lasting ramifications on your friends and fellow recreators out in the woods.

During an active fire, a TFR, or Temporary Flight Restriction, closes the airspace over a fire to all air traffic that is not fire related  - including drones which are becoming ever more popular among the general public. A drone in the air over a fire means that our aviation resources can not fly - no bucket drops from helicopters, no retardant planes, not even medical evacuations can happen if you fly your drone in fire airspace. In June, fire operations on the Goodwin Fire in Arizona were shut down twice when private drones cruised into airspace over the fire.

In many ways, the general public can aid local firefighters by being aware and practicing good judgement in recreational situations. In both fire prevention and fire suppression efforts, Smokey Bear’s mission is renewed every year as people still need to be reminded of their responsibility to protect the woods where they live, work and play. According to a study by the National Academy of the Sciences,  84% of wildfires are human caused, and that, my friends, is a scary statistic. Especially when these fires cost our country billions of dollars annually, and even worse, human lives, like the human-caused conflagration in Tennessee last year that killed fourteen people.  

Fire will always be a part of our landscape here in rural Eastern Washington, but how much destruction this fire brings is in part, up to us as residents of this great place. Cooperating with local agencies and policies and using your own good sense are the best way to be part of the solution. Enjoy your summer, but do it wisely, and remember, Only You...

Total eclipse from the start

the first photograph of a total solar eclipse in 1860

By Liv Stecker

In 3340 BCE, a bunch of Neolithic Irish Priests documented a series of celestial events onto a pile of rocks. The Loughcrew Cairn stands as the oldest recorded total solar eclipse in human history. These petroglyphs mean that people have been chasing eclipses since about 160 years before the wheel was invented.

Ancient cultures saw the total eclipse as a religious experience, usually a bad omen, a premonition of destruction, or in the case of an ancient Chinese emperor who wanted to know what had caused the sudden darkness - the imminent beheading of some hapless astronomers who didn’t know. What ancient Chinese records DO say about the event in October of 2134 BCE is that “the Sun and Moon did not meet harmoniously.”

Rahu consumes the sun

Whether it was a Chinese dragon, a South American Jaguar or a Scandinavian sky wolf, most early people had some theory about the creature that consumed, and promptly regurgitated the sun in the middle of its daily course. In India, the floating head of the demon Rahu occasionally caught the sun and moon in his mouth, but, lacking a body, they slipped out shortly after, according to legend.

Ancient documentation on clay tablets found in a Syrian cave reference an eclipse that experts say took place in March of 1223, BCE. The Holy Bible itself makes note in the book of Amos, chapter 8 verse 9, of an 8th century Assyrian (now Iraq) eclipse that took place: "And it shall come to pass in that day, saith the Lord God, that I will cause the sun to go down at noon, and I will darken the earth in the clear day."

Fast forward a few hundred years and people started getting wise to the repeating pattern of the eclipse. It probably helped that they started traveling more too (now that they had wheels) and discovered that the once-in-a-lifetime event happened fairly routinely, just not often in the same place. By the time that humankind had graduated into the Anno Domini they were predicting when and where the next total eclipse would be and all making up all kinds of theories that had nothing to do with giant mythical creatures. Less dramatic? Hardly, considering the vastness of the cosmos that were just beginning to make sense to astronomers.

But what is it about a total eclipse that is so captivating to human audiences? Rarity seems like an unlikely motivator when the event occurs every 18 months somewhere in the world, and yet more than seven million people are expected to make the trek to experience the totality in August of 2017.

Dubbed the Great American Eclipse for the sweeping course it cuts across the entire nation like a beauty pageant sash, the August 21 path of totality makes its first all-American appearance in Lincoln City, Oregon where local law enforcement have issued preparedness warnings that residents should stockpile and prepare to shelter in place before the hordes of eclipse chasers descend upon them.  The shadow will move east/southeast across the country, leaving a path of partiers that some brilliant website analyst describes as “ 20 Woodstock festivals occurring simultaneously across the nation”, before finishing the visit along the beaches of  South Carolina.

path of totality

Unlike comet-tracking cults and celestial doomsday believers, eclipse chasers appear to be cut from a completely different cloth. You won’t find end-of-the-world gibberish on eclipsechaser.com - rather, the community is a scientifically driven, curious group hailing from every imaginable background who all agree on one thing: there’s nothing like it in the world.

“The feeling of the eclipse when it happens, you can't describe it, it's like magic.” 30 year old Latvian IT consultant Agnese Zalcmane told the Daily Mail in 2015, “One minute the sun is shining then it starts getting darker but it doesn't get dark like it does in the evening or at dusk - it goes dark very, very fast. Within half a minute it's completely black and it is something that is very strange to experience.”

Seasoned eclipse chaser Rhonda Coleman tells the Bend Bulletin, “We depend on our sun for everything. You can’t help but feel a little dread when it starts to lose strength, when it starts to lose power, when it starts to dim in the middle of the day — when it’s not supposed to...For just the short period of time, everybody’s just looking up at once. It’s this beautiful connection to the family of man.” The experience seems to draw strangers together into intimate throngs with one purpose. Author, eclipse chaser and psychologist Kate Russo describes the experience in one of her books on the subject.

“You can literally feel the ominous shadow before it arrives.  The temperature drops.  The wind picks up speed.  The Sunlight slowly dims, bathing the surroundings in an eerie twilight that produces colours with shades rarely seen in the natural world.  Then it is time. Moments before totality a wall of darkness comes creeping towards you at speeds of up to 5,000 miles per hour – this is the full shadow of the Moon.  You feel alive.  You feel in awe.  You feel a primitive fear.  Then – totality.” Something akin to the ghost story your older brother told you late at night in a shadowy tent, the total eclipse haunts the experienced viewer with tenacity.

Hotels, campgrounds and resorts that were booked more than a year in advance are facing scandal after they scratched all reservations and jacked the price up to meet demand. The Grand Ole Opry, in Nashville, Tennessee, falls directly in the path and is hosting an Eclipse Party on the day of the event, showcasing country stars (pun intended) and celestial-themed food and drinks. Google is rife with websites featuring eclipse chasing tips that range from where to get your eclipse glasses ahead of time (or better yet, make your own!), to the best weather pockets along the path of totality. Granted, it’s the first total eclipse in the United States since 1979, but the good news is if all of the eclipse glasses are already sold out and your favorite central Oregon resort is booked up, you’ll likely have another shot on April 8,  2024 when a total solar eclipse will climb the U.S. from Texas to Maine on a northerly route.

https://www.forbes.com/sites/lealane/2017/07/07/the-great-american-total-solar-eclipse-on-august-21-best-places-to-see-it-what-to-expect/#401c69166159

How to (not) meditate

By Liv Stecker

So I have been reading all of these books lately that talk about meditation. Meditation isn't something I've really practiced getting good at because, well, I'm me - and holding still for more than 30 seconds is REALLY HARD if Game of Thrones or Vikings isn't on TV. But It's something I've decided to work on since stillness and focus and direction all seem to be recurring problematic themes in my life.

Today I set the timer to meditate for 10 minutes, which seemed to be the agreed upon reasonable starting point for most beginning meditators according to a variety of self-help authors. I decided to lay on my back because sitting hurts my injured hip (that’s a story for another day) and I didn't need that distraction, so I got in a savasana-type pose with one hand on my heart and the other on my belly to really connect and all of that stuff. The first 5 seconds went really well.

I closed my eyes and practiced the words I had decided to say in my head to help me focus on not focusing on anything. "Air in - air out." I said it a couple times but then I realized I was fighting really hard to keep my eyes closed so I opened them to remove that distraction. That's when I noticed the texture of the ceiling was like a topographic map, but in reverse, where all the low areas are actually raised. Like topography in negative. Then I realized I was not focusing on not focusing and redirected my thoughts. "Air in - air out."

"Air in- air out, air in - air out...my nose... air in - air out... my nose... is so weird. I hate it in pictures." uh oh. the wandering... "AIR IN - AIR OUT. Not that I like any pictures of me, but those ones I just sent with my bio for the articles REALLY make my nose look weird. And they're not very professional. I should look into getting some professional head shots done. Then the photographer could, like, airbrush my nose... oh crap. AIR IN - AIR OUT." I could tell I was slipping and I am pretty sure I was less than 2 minutes in. So I laid my hands out to my sides to remove the distraction of contact with my body and decided to switch to the word BLUE instead of all the other words because I was kind of bored with them.

Plus blue feels calm and serene and like the thing I would want to focus on if I was focusing on nothing. Not blue like depression or sadness. But blue like water and air with clouds floating in it. And I heard on the John Tesh show that Blue is the color of calming and focus... How many minutes I spent reconciling myself to the new word I was going to silently chant, I have no idea.

"Blue. Blue. Blue. Blue like the sky. Like the sky over the ocean on that one beach in Brazil... where was it? Oh yeah, Ilha Grande, when Hal wasn’t feeling good so she slept in her hammock all day and I took 7000 selfies because I was basically alone on the beach, but it was fun. The sky and the ocean were almost the same color. Oh crap. BLUE. Blue. Blue. Blue." When I was able to stop the chatter, I could almost see a blue haze behind my eyelids. "Blue. Blue. Blue. Like that Keith Urban song. I like that song. I don't know if I really like him. I mean, as a person he's ok, but his music... meh. And that stupid song with Carrie Underwood. UGH. Make it stop."

"Blue. Blue. Blue. Blue. What size are these underwear? They feel like smalls. They're binding a little. But they're so cute. I mean the fact I can even get into a small... UGH. Blue. Blue. Blue." This is my mind, people. I spent the last three minutes of my "meditation" composing all of these words in my head. But you know what, it's a start.

Authors and Ales August 12

Northern Ales will be featuring local author Kerry Schafer, AKA Kerry Anne King, for Authors and Ales on August 12th from 5:30 to 8:30 PM. Celebrating the release of two new books, I Wish You Happy, published under Schafer’s pen name Kerry Anne King, and World Tree Girl, the second novel in the paranormal mystery Shadow Valley Manor series.

Come enjoy your favorite beer and pick up a copy of one of Schafer’s books. The author will be on hand to sign books and chat with readers. The event includes live music and a raffle to benefit Colville Valley Animal Sanctuary! Northern Ales is located at 325 W. 3rd Avenue, behind the Little Gallea restaurant.