After the Fire

While the Pacific Northwest was drowning in the river runoff from a deluge of warm rain and the resulting snow melt, Southern California was undergoing Chapter 2 of its fall fire season. They sure could have used some of that rain.


Fire swept through here, burning this tree and everything around it.


A wider view.


Remains of a motorcycle that was parked outside a gated mobile home park.


Peering over the wall at what's left of the mobile home park.
Click to enlarge.


A closer view.
Click to enlarge.

All wet!

[Updated 11/15/08 noon]

Western Washington has been pummeled these past few days with torrential rain. Add to this the runoff of melting snow from the mountains and you have overflowing rivers. Today, after a night of more heavy rainfall, the sun has come out to reveal the full extent of the flooding. Farms and homes are under water. Some amount of flooding is a common occurrence in this area, so the residents are somewhat used to it, but still it has displaced many people, and will no doubt leave quite a mess.


Panoramic view of the flooded valley. Click to enlarge.


Stables in the distance.


Swamped greenhouse.


Next day, same greenhouse, high, if not entirely dry just yet.


Flooded road. Note the mostly submerged speed limit sign for an idea of the depth of the water.


Evening shot of the same speed limit sign. Digits are starting to be visible indicating that the water level has fallen a few inches. See below for more evening images.


Next day noon, the water level has fallen considerably.


Another day later, the road is still impassable.


Another submerged road.


Same barn seen from the other side now that the water has gone down a lot.


Most of this road is still submerged.


Yet another flooded road and bridge in the distance. The current at this point is quite swift.


The water level has dropped enough to make the bridge accessible.


Beyond the bridge, the road is still under several inches of water but large pickup trucks are getting through.


Closer shot where the guardrail heads beneath the water.


Livestock at the water's edge.


Fences and gates showing the extent of the flooding.

That evening, the water had begun to recede but only by a little bit. The following shots were 60 second exposures.


Same location as the panoramic shot above, but closer up.


Flooded fields, mist rising from the water, cars passing by in the distance.

Next day some previously inaccessible areas opened up.


Small bridge, its guard rails now peeking out from under the water and covered with debris that was floating in the flood.


Next day, the bridge is no longer submerged. Even before the rest of the road is passable, a cleanup crew is on the scene.


Beyond the newly exposed and cleared bridge, the area is still quite flooded.


A boat tied up at the end of the bridge. It has been used to ferry people and supplies to and from the temporary island created by the flood.


Down the road a little, another flooded drive. Near the bottom of the ramp, some leaf debris forms a high water mark.


Next day, the water went down far enough to clear the road.

Unhenged

The Maryhill Museum in the Columbia Gorge in Washington State constructed a full scale replica of Stonehenge as it is believed to have originally been shaped, as a memorial to military personnel in world war one.


A view of the whole structure.


From the inside looking out.


Another interior angle.


Looking through the structure and out the other side.


This sign explains the monument.


Close up of the diagram.

New Generation

Stopped along the Columbia River Gorge to take some pictures, an oversize load happened by. This is one of three blades that make up a wind turbine [Wikipedia] generator.


A little further down the road, there it was, the same blade, pulled off the road in some sort of a staging area. This one blade is about 45 meters (almost 150 feet) long from end to end. This is comparable to the wingspan of a Boeing 767 [Boeing]. It looks like the only way to have positioned this transport as seen here is to have backed it into place. Anyone who's ever backed a trailer has some appreciation of what that implies.

Perhaps a better impression of the size of this thing is shown on the truck driver's own web site. In his picture, what appears to be a tower segment is behind the blade and extends a bit beyond it, making it difficult to see where the blade ends, but a close look shows it clearly.


Also in the staging area were segments of the tower on which the turbine stands. Here are two side by side in their shipping rigs. Three of these make up a single tower.


Another view showing the the tower segment and its shipping mount.


Interior of a tower segment showing the ladder used to climb up the interior to service the equipment. At the top of the tower on an appropriately huge rotation mount, sits the nacelle (not shown) that houses the huge generator to which the three blades are bolted.


Fully assembled, these things tower over the hilltops all around the gorge.