Hi,
I started out today hoping for a day of birding and came out to our
cars which were covered in ash. Later, I would hear of ash on people's
homes and cars in Skaneateles, Elbridge and Auburn. People reportedly
could see the fire on their way from Ithaca. At the time,I didn't
give it much thought as I wanted to get going. I didn't go to
Montezuma right away and while I was in Owasco, I saw a strange cloud
formation. I wondered what it was. It didn't look like smoke at this
point. As I drove closer to Montezuma on Rt. 20, there was a massive
cloud of black smoke. My first thought was that its Easter Sunday and
that seemed strange for a prescribed burn. As we got closer to the
entrance, cars were pouring in and out. I kept going and turned on to
Rt 89. The overlook was completely filled with cars spilling on to
both sides of the road. I could see at this point that the fire had
run along the loop inside the refuge along the Thruway. The people on
the Thruway must have had quite the shock earlier.
I went back to the refuge and the cars had thinned out, but the fire
was still ebbing and flaring across the center of the refuge. The
Eagles were surrounded by the fire on the Island, but the ranger said
they stayed on the nest. Amazing! It looks like the flames spared the
trees and blackened the earth where the grass was consumed.
A special marsh vehicle was called in and arrived just as the wind
had changed and now the fire was turning back on itself, which I'm
sure made their job somewhat easier. Later, I could see official
cars from Rt. 89, and I believe the Marsh vehicle that sucks up water
from the marsh was in play putting out the hot spots. Things could
have been even worse if the fire had reached an area of peat. At
least, most birds are not nesting. All and all, it's a shame to have
happened, given that it is believed to be intentionally or accidently
started.
Here's a few photos of the fire. One, interestingly, has 2 geese
near the fire, though a telephoto lens does compress the scene. One
goose seems oblivious. Diana
http://www.pbase.com/dianawhitingphoto/image/123305067
http://www.pbase.com/dianawhitingphoto/image/123305150
http://www.pbase.com/dianawhitingphoto/image/123305172
http://www.pbase.com/dianawhitingphoto/image/123305202
http://www.pbase.com/image/123305713
Hi,
We went up to Montezuma to check out migration, without knowing
that the billows of smoke we were seeing were coming from there. We
found out soon enough, though, and happened to meet up with our
friend there, a state forest ranger who had been called in to
coordinate part of the fire response & help establish the cause. As
Suzanne said, it started around 3:30 AM this morning.
Unfortunately, it was not a prescribed burn, and it sounded like
they tend to think it may have been started intentionally but the
investigation is continuing
I'm sure it will look fine relatively quickly but at the moment
most of the marsh lying between the Main Pool, the thruway, and Rte
89 has been completely burned over - we heard about 640 acres total.
Alicia
Maureen Barger wrote:
We were just up in Auburn today, At Bass Pro they were saying it
was a
prescribed burn, which they have done many times at Montezuma in the
past. Trouble is this year the wind picked it up and it burned after
they put it out. The ash was flying in the air for miles around and
smoke very visible. We left the area around 2pm. There were 2
distinct
fires.
On Sun, Apr 4, 2010 at 3:16 PM, Laura Stenzler <l...@cornell.edu>
wrote:
Hi all,
3:15 pm - I called the visitor center at Montezuma. The fire is
just
about out, the drive is closed and the visitor center will close
shortly.
The fire was in the cattails in the main pool area.
Laura
Laura Stenzler
l...@cornell.edu
________________________________
From: bounce-5520926-8866...@list.cornell.edu
[bounce-5520926-8866...@list.cornell.edu] On Behalf Of Suzanne
Henderson
[shend...@twcny.rr.com]
Sent: Sunday, April 04, 2010 2:52 PM
To: cayugabirds-l@cornell.edu
Subject: [cayugabirds-l] Fire at Montezuma
According to the Magee Fire Chief, it is estimated that more than
600
acres have burned since about 4 AM Easter morning. The most
probable cause
is a discarded cigarette! The refuge policy is to let the fire
burn as long
as it does not threaten people or dwellings. News updates on
CNYcental.com.
Sad news for a beautiful Sunday when Spring Migration is really
on the
uptick.
---Suzanne Henderson
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