Two More Jaw-Dropping Rocky Fire Images

Today I found two more rather remarkable images from last night showing the second night of the Rocky Fire currently burning on the east side of Clear Lake in Northern California. I specify the east side currently because there is a real sense this beast may not limit itself to just the east side of the lake. There is scuttlebutt in the firefighting community that it might grow into a 100,000+ acre monster. This fire has possessed an ornery personality from the get-go and has not changed moods since. It has also been one of the most photogenic wildfires in recent memory. California is on the cusp of a major fire siege of the order of magnitude of 2008, except this time the conditions are significantly worse and are so earlier in the year. We could be on the verge of some unprecedented fires both in behavior and in scope and in effects on the land and on society. I hope we as a people are ready for what it feels like is coming. I also hope lone wolf terrorists don't finally figure out that starting wildfires in California is probably the safest form of attack with the greatest return value.

Image by Craig Philpott (all rights reserved).

Image by Jeff Frost (all rights reserved).