From Sierra News Online:
TUOLUMNE COUNTY – Families who have been camping at the Berkeley Tuolumne Family Camp for years gathered yesterday to mourn the loss of the camp, which was consumed by the Rim Fire on Sunday.
The fire has now grown to 179,481 acres with 20% containment, and U.S. Forest Service officials confirmed yesterday that most structures at the camp have been destroyed.
The Rim Fire has also forced the cancellation of the 2013 Film Fest Twain Harte and the Strawberry Music Festival, an annual bluegrass celebration at Camp Mather that attracts thousands of music lovers to the Sierra each Labor Day Weekend.
The Tuolumne County Board of Supervisors voted last week to close down the event because of the fire.
You can read the entire article HERE.
For almost two weeks the Rim Fire has continued to burn and expand in northern California. By the time it is contained and put out it will, undoubtedly, be one of the larger – if not the largest – fire in California’s history. There are many reasons for the fire, and the finger-pointing will begin before the ashes are cool, but in the meantime there are amy photographers on the scene recording incredible, heroic, frightening, and even horrific images.
As a big fan of our open spaces including national forest, state parks, and so on I firmly believe that using them to grow marijuana is a bad idea. It’s not that I’m against the plant in any way – I’m very 420 friendly – I just don’t believe public lands should be used to grow it. I’m a firm supporter of the Mendocino County, California’s yellow zip-tie program from a couple of years back. It was a great idea, and it’s a shame the state of California didn’t stand behind it and allowed the federal government to swoop in and wipe out the legal and law-abiding growers crops.
Dick Hagerty, an Oakdale real estate developer active in community nonprofits, has written an excellent community column in the Modesto Bee about getting outdoors and hiking the Sierras.