As we explored the natural beauty around Chaco and Paradise, I couldn’t believe just how dry everything was. The golden orange grass in these photos would crunch and crumble under your feet as you walked. This place was a box of matches, ready to blow. It might as well have been doused in gasoline. It was so hot that I thought the sun might set the place on fire. A lightning strike or electrical spark is all it would take. It seems like a scary place to live. (Ironic, as I type this from below sea level, being protected by mud levees that was built decades ago…)
On the coasts we have hurricanes and a rising sea level. In the west you have wildfires and earthquakes. In the great plains you have F5 tornadoes. The Pacific Northwest is long overdue for the really big one. The reality is that there’s no real safe space, but that’s living on earth. And while we should certainly try our best to mitigate these disasters, in reality there’s no stopping them.
The sad fact of life is that we need to constantly adapt with our environment. Nature is in a constant rhythm of destruction and renewal. Nature needs the floods. Nature needs the fires. It’s only when we think we can control these ebbs and flows that we are asking for trouble.
Paradise was surreal. A charred smell permeated the air, the evidence of the fire all around us. It was impossible to imagine what the place looked like before the fire.
But what struck me as odd was what the fire choose not to burn. Right next to the scorched slab of a former business or residence would be a house that barely had a trace of smoke damage. How was this possible? Entire neighborhoods lay in ruin with nothing left but twisted and blackened remains, yet the house across the street stood tall. I’ve seen this selective destruction with tornadoes, and even floods, but I never thought it was possible with fire. Didn’t fire destroy everything?
It was a powerful reminder of the power of mother nature. And I’m not here to compare disasters, but is anything worse than fire? I’m not sure.
There will be more fires, there will be more floods. This is a reality that we all must live with. I bought a house below sea level…a house that got six feet of water during Hurricane Katrina. If I stay here long enough it is inevitable that it will flood. So why? That is a question that we all need to ask ourselves. We can deny the realities, or we can simply accept that the pros outweigh the cons. That’s life, I guess.
The world will be here long after we are gone, that’s a fact. I just hope we take care of her while we’re here.