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Until
this image, I had never thought of fire as being
good. So I must say I have again learned
something new this week. The Los Alamos images
showed a blue area, which appeared to be a hot
spot where the fire was still smoldering. The
black areas looked like charred spots from where
the fire had been. The white was perhaps snow,
as I recall Los Alamos being at a high
altitude.
Upon talking to a businessman this week about
fire and that it could actually help soil, he
related a personal experience to me. He was
traveling through Kansas and came into a huge
cloud of smoke. It was so thick he could not
even see the end of his car. He had to pull over
on the shoulder to drive because he feared
driving into other vehicles on the regular
roadway. After finally getting through, he
inquired at the next town what was happening. He
was told that the farmers burn off the
grasslands every year. When they do, the grass
comes back lush and green, providing grazing for
the cattle. If the "burn" is not done, it will
be a bad year the next season.
In addition to allowing the new grass to
prosper, it is felt that nutrients are put back
into the soil, such as potash. As usual,
however, it all has to be done under control.
Now that I think about it, I remember my father
burning out the ditches when they became full of
dried weeds and brush. I feel, now, that it
probably helped the drainage in the spring, so
that water would not stand in the fields and
wash out the newly planted crops.
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