Fire --- Illinois Beach State Park

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They had a large grass fire at Illinois Beach State Park today ... supposedly the dry brush burned for hours, but didn't damage the campground.

We've camped there several times, after our daughter and her husband moved to Gurnie, IL.

Nice place, right on Lake Michigan.

Also just heard of a large fire in the Mentor Marsh area near Cleveland, OH.

Things are already dry around here. Some areas didn't get a lot of snow this past winter ... so please be careful.

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Charles,
It could be controlled burns. They have been doing that for a few weeks now in the suburbs around Chicago.

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Wow,
After seeing the news ,that was no controlled burn.

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Pete ... I didn't think it was ... but it could have been a controlled burn that got out of control.

A day later, I still haven't heard what caused the fire.

As I know you know (so I'm saying this for the benefit of others), while hundreds and hundreds of acres were burned ... much of it was natural prairie ground ... and in the end, fire can be a good thing, because it's nature's way of recycling back to natural prairie.

In days of old (which Morgan and George probably remember), lighting would touch off large prairie fires, which would regenerate the prairie.

So, as long as the campground at Illinois Beach State Beach survived, I guess it's a good thing.

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In days of old, lighting would touch off large prairie fires, which would regenerate the prairie.

So, I guess it's a good thing.

But when it ends up on my land closing in on my house, then it's a BAD thing. fought one for 6 days last year. and it was started on 1,000 acre ranch to regenerate the prairie. around here they think it regenerates the trees too. now that's stupid. Sorry, gripe number two today. my trailers not back yet, so I'm getting antsy.

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Actually, for some species of trees, redwoods in particular, fire DOES trigger regeneration. However, I'm not aware of any houses, cars or animals that fire has that effect on.

It's a tough call -- we build homes OUT of wood, IN the woods, which puts us at risk. So, we do all we can to prevent forest fires. As a result, the fuel on the forest floor builds up to the point that when lightning triggers a fire, it's a duesie. So, should we prevent fires or not? Is fire just one of the risks we must accept with our chosen home site, or do we expect society to protect us from what is, in fact, natural? How much control should we demand over our environment? Or, do we allow nature to exert control over us?

I'm not trying to present or support a viewpoint -- just commenting that it's a complex issue that folks disagree heartily about. Glad you were able to win your battle last year, Jana!