THE MANTER FIRE FROM BALD MTN. L.O.
By Carol Ann Ralston

On Saturday, July 22, 2000, the largest fire in the history of the Sequoia National Forest began as a small smokey haze ten miles south of the lookout. On Saturday, August 5, I was evacuated as the fire roared around the bottom of the east point and raced up the side of Bald Mtn.. As I drove out the Bald Mtn. Road and looked down into that hellhole that was a drainage, I was sure nothing would be left when I returned except the steel of the tower, but with the help of retardant dropped by tankers, the backfiring done a few days earlier held the fire in check. So what if I had a few pink spots on my windows. My new windows needed to be washed anyway. Two days after the fire started, I was interviewed by a TV cameraman. As we looked at the huge column of smoke rising behind a ridge, he asked me if I was concerned for my safety. I said, "Not really". " It is ten miles away and there is lots of rock in between". In the days to come, I was to eat those words. As I watched the progression of the fire, I could see that the rocks were not forming the barrier they usually provide. The embers danced out ahead of the fire 1/4-1/2-3/4 mile and started new fires burning debris rolled down rock faces and set vegetation afire farther down. I watched fiery fingers snake out toward Rockhouse Basin, then spread and pick up speed as they raced toward Kennedy Meadows. Another finger turned the corner and headed for the S.E. corner of Bald Mtn.. It pushed it's way up Fish Creek and through Bakeoven Pass, circling around the east point until it hit the drainage and all hell broke loose. In the days previous to this assault on the mountain, I watched the crews setting the backburns and questioned the validity of what they were doing. Slowly it dawned on me. In spite of giving it all they had, the fire fighters could not put this fire out. All they could do was stop it by building a perimeter of backburns and starve the fire of fuel. And it worked! Bald Mtn. was one of those perimeters causing a flurry of activity such a the tower has seen in it's 45 years of existence. The crews came fro all over the U.S and climbed the stairs to sign my log book. They were all caring men and women, some of whom seemed hesitant to intrude on my privacy, but smiled I smiled and welcomed them. Yes, my territory is greatly altered, but there is still a lot of forest to survey. Now that the smoke has cleared, I am amazed to see islands of green trees still standing within the burn. The forest will never be the same in my lifetime, but I can watch it begin to make it's comeback. In spite of the fire, Bald Mtn. L.O. still offers one of the best views in the Southern Sierra.