I grew up right outside Yosemite National Park in a small town called Oakhurst. Oakhurst is known as the "gateway to Yosemite" and is a very cute, quaint, and small town. I loved growing up in Oakhurst and loved being apart of such a close knit and tight community, however as I got older I realized I needed to move away. However, Oakhurst will always hold a special place in my heart and will always be home to me.
Due to the serious drought in California, within in last two years or so fires have been a horrific issue for residents of California. Last summer (2014) my hometown Oakhurst had about six to seven serious fires and my family and I had to evacuate three times due to proximity of the fire to our neighborhood. It was devastating to see fires, most started accidentally, destroy wildlife and land that makes living in Oakhurst so beautiful and so desirable as well as homes and businesses of friends and families. Below is a picture of one of the more serious fires in Oakhurst that destroyed countless homes.
The reason I share this with everyone is because today, again, I have received news of two fires starting to kick off this summer's fire season. This is a serious issue for my community of Oakhurst as well as other small mountain communities that are being affected by the drought in California. If there is anyone out there that doesn't take the drought seriously or isn't immediately affected by it, take some time to read about some of the smaller mountain communities being harmed by the drought and the wildfires that take advantage of the drought and think twice about your water consumption!
I visited Yosemite when I was younger, and it was sad to see the parts of it that was burned down in a forest fire. Fires are scary :(
ReplyDeleteThat picture is pretty crazy! I've only had one real experience with forest fires growing up in Calabasas when the park that was half a mile from our house burnt down and we were out of town so we didn't have to evacuate. It was a pretty shitty experience so I'm sure living by Yosemite in the summer isn't the most reassuring thing.
ReplyDeleteI remember being obsessed with Smokey Bear. I had a comic book, a stuffed animal, and a ranger hat. I used to go to many national parks collecting junior ranger badges. The drought is for sure having a huge impact on our national parks. As the saying goes..."only we can prevent forest fires."
DeleteI felt so helpless and scary thinking those people suffering from fire. It's really important that everyone at least within South Cal understands how serious this issue is and pay attention to their water consumption.
ReplyDelete