To the Editor:
It rained! And thank goodness the rain was not accompanied by lightning. It appears the water users of Arrow Creek lucked out again. We surely dodged a bullet this summer, a bullet that will, I’m sure, strike home some summer day in the future.
I believe it is inevitable that Arrow Creek will suffer a fire during some future dry spell. And how destructive that fire will be to its forest, its flora, its soil and the quality of its water will depend on where the fire gets started and how long the fire burns. If the fire starts in an area easily accessed by firefighters, then we should be able to limit the damage. But if lightning should start a fire in one of the creek’s inaccessible areas (its headwaters area, for example) then all bets would be off as to estimating what damage the creek would sustain.
Access to the creek’s headwaters area by earthbound firefighters (and their equipment) is, and would be, hugely limited. So a fire in that area would, no doubt, be fought (initially at least) by helicopters carrying water or chemical retardant. Water would have to be bucketed from Kootenay Lake or its river, and retardant flown from the Lister airport. Either way, round trips from those places to a fire in the back of Arrow Creek would take time, and time and distance are critical factors in how quickly helicopters get the jump on a fire.
Even though there are several small lakes in the general area of Arrow Creek, I feel strongly that those tiny, environmentally vulnerable mountain lakes should never be required to sacrifice water (and fish) to fight a fire.
People in our valley have, this past summer, witnessed two examples of forest fires that were started by lightning, fought initially from the air (helicopters), later by firefighters and helicopters, burned for several weeks and were eventually extinguished by a natural event. The Parker Ridge (Idaho) and Mount Midgely fires should be viewed as examples of what could very well be Arrow Creek’s fate if it was to suffer a fire. But, there are things that could be done that would cut down the chances of a fire (in our town’s most important water source) becoming the major fire that destroys forest, soil and water quality. But that is another story entirely.
Oh, yes, there was another downside to this summer’s heatwave. Some water controllers say brown lawns are beautiful, but I doubt if local realtors or the people trying to sell their homes and property in Creston think that brown is beautiful. I don’t believe this “scorched earth look” helped sell Creston as the place to settle down in, this summer.
People of Creston and Erickson: We need to preserve what we have and seek more of what we are short of — water!
Creston
