Thanks to all the city council and city attorney candidates, club members, new faces and everyone who came by our July 30 meeting as Rick Halsey, director of the California Chaparral Institute and the author of Fire, Chaparral and Survival in Southern California, delivered an engaging, interactive presentation on how wildfires are fought in San Diego County, and why we need a more holistic approach to how we interact with our region's backcountry, habitat and wildlife corridors.

The Scientist and the Climate Denier (with apologies to Lewis Carroll)
Thanks to candidate Barbara Bry for sharing her poem with us

The sun was shining on the sea
Shining with all his might.
The air did warm and thus brought on
The beginning of our plight.
For those who paid attention
This surely caused a fright.

The moon was shining hazily
Due to all the smoke.
That spewed from coal-fired power plants
And made the neighbors choke.
And where did all the water go?
This year's snowpack was a joke.

The Scientist and the Climate Denier
Were walking on the beach
Stepping over sea lions,
Bidding afternoon to each.
"Will all these pups just swim away
when they run out of beach?"

"What do you mean,"
the Denier said,
"The beach is here to stay."
"Of course,” replied the Scientist,
"But you’ll find it in Poway."
"Can you believe it," the Denier said,
"The Chargers in L.A.?!"

"The time has come," the Scientist said,
"To talk some issues out."  
"Like greenhouse gas and oil sands
Like polar bears and drought.
And why the sea is bound to rise
- Oh Denier don't you pout,

Some San Diegans hard at work
Appear to understand:
The Sierra Club, Enviro. Dems.,
and Climate Action Plan.
The League of Conservation Voters
Also lends a hand."

The Denier scowled and then replied,
"That seems like quite a jump.
From rising seas to Poway Beach…
Please come down off your stump.
I know the man to save us all –
I'm voting for Donald Trump."

Living With Wildfire in an Era of Drought and Warmer Temperatures
Why are fires so frequent in Southern California? How has the natural chaparral ecosystem been altered?

Motorists flee the North Fire at Cajon Pass, July 2015.

The wildfire that consumed 20 cars and sent motorists running for their lives on I-15 at Cajon Pass on July 17, 2015, was a stark reminder any time of year is fire season in Southern California.

A similar reminder came in May 2014, when five fires were burning across the county at one time, in the midst of what is ordinarily the springtime overcast season of "May Gray" and "June Gloom." Powered by unseasonably strong Santa Ana Winds, the Cocos Fire burned in the hills above San Marcos, while the Poinsettia Fire dramatically marched into Carlsbad with little warning.

The "classic" autumn wildfires of 2003 and 2007, including the destructive and deadly Cedar and Witch Creek fires, aren't far from the collective memory of San Deigans either, nor is the 1970 Laguna Fire for long-time residents of the region.

But is clearing "brush" in the backcountry, miles from any town or private property, a reasonable response or component in preventing wildfire? There's evidence of a lot of money being spent, but not much evidence that destroying habitat and native shrubs makes us any safer from fire in a region where wildfire is part of the natural landscape.

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The Cocos Fire burns in San Marcos, May 2014.

Part of the problem is the sheer abundance of man-made fires, which have burned so frequently in places like Cajon Pass that nature hasn't had a chance to re-populate burned areas with native species, or allow old-growth chaparral environments to recover.

Instead, as Rick details at the California Chaparral Institute website, invasive non-native grasses and other plants move in, crowding out the more fire-resistent plants of our native ecosystems in the process – and the Catch 22 cycle of fire grows more acute and more intense.

Another condsideration is the attitude many have towards our natural habitat, pejoratively calling natural plants and species "fuel," as though they serve no other purpose but to burn – and as though a house or ornamental palm or eucalyptus trees isn't somehow fuel too.

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Fire nearly reached the beach in several places in 2007.

But if we were to listen to some at the county level, or opportunistic hotheads in the media and on AM radio, we'd have a "bowling alley" environment surrounding us, cleared of chaparral, trees or any kind of habitat.

Living in Southern California brings with it unique responsibilites and awareness. San Diego County is one of the most fire-prone counties in the state, so we can choose to have an antagonistic relationship with our enviornment, or choose to live within our environment.

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About this Month's Guest Rick Halsey

The director of the California Chaparral Institute in Escondido, Rick Halsey has given hundreds of presentations and written numerous papers and articles concerning chaparral ecology, how communities can adapt to fire-prone environments, and the importance of nature education. Rick also works with the San Diego Museum of Natural History and continues to teach natural history throughout the state. The author of Fire, Chaparral and Survival in Southern California, Rick was trained as a Type II wildland firefighter, in part to better understand fire.

Having earned undergraduate degrees from the University of California in environmental studies and anthropology, Rick received graduate teaching credentials in life, physical and social science, and a Master's in education. He taught biology for over 30 years in both public and private schools, and was honored as Teacher of the Year by San Diego city schools.

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The Cocos Fire burns in the hills of San Marcos, May 2014.

Firefighters watch a water drop in Rancho Bernardo, Oct. 2007.

Photo credits: Cajon Pass fire, KTLA; Cocos Fire, Associated Press; surfer photo, Richard Hartog/Los Angeles Times; Highway 78 photo, Laura Wilson; Rancho Bernardo fire, K.C. Alfred/San Diego Union-Tribune.