This week’s Sunday Stills challenge theme is ‘Dry.’ (See more responses here.) I posted a photo of one of the local cow pastures yesterday (here), which would have been fine for this topic, but this is another aspect of these unusually dry conditions. It makes the land susceptible to fires.
There have been a couple of fires in the area recently. The first of these was caused by someone setting fire to an abandoned vehicle, which is something of a local sport. These photos were from the aftermath of the second fire. The cause is currently unknown, but about 40 acres were burned. I took these photos a couple of days after the fire happened and there were still some small areas emitting smoke.
The top photo shows burned areas and lighter brown unburned grass. When I walked on this grass it crunched beneath my feet, it’s so dry. The second photo shows a hotspot that was still putting out puffs of smoke. The bottom photo shows burned land next to the highway. In the center of this photo, that large metal pipe is there to channel water beneath the highway. If this seems redundant in this very dry scene, bear in mind that rains in the Kohala Mountains can send flash floods down these gullies and, without pipes like this one, the road could easily be washed out.
Fires mesmerize us and are quite beautiful. Unfortunately, for some it may be an addiction. It could be an accident, or it could be deliberate vandalism. Very good take on the theme, dry, Graham. 🙂
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There’s a stretch of road on the island where fires have been set for several years, but no one has been caught. It’s not clear whether it’s someone local or a regular visitor or possibly copycats. Very sad though that people get their kicks that way.
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Yes, it is Graham.
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I’m always amazed to see landscape like this on the BI, Graham. Dry indeed, very well captured by your lens. Those hotspots look all too familiar on the west coast these days. Sad how many wildfires are started by vandalism or carelessness.
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The dry side of the island can be very dry indeed and there are usually a few fires each year. Fortunately, they usually don’t get too out of hand because it’s mostly grass, not much other fuel. Sadly, a fair number of the fires are deliberately set.
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