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Controlled burn creates apocalyptic scene in High Park
Toronto Forestry and Recreation undertook a controlled burn in High Park earlier today, which is pretty much what it sounds like. But though the fire burns low to the ground and consumes mostly dried leaves, small twigs and grass stems, it produces one hell of a lot of smoke. Photographer Tom Ryaboi was on the scene and reports that the event went mostly according to plan. "With Toronto police watching closely, the burn was carried out in four separate areas of the park without incident. At one point a raccoon (see photo below) was seen up in one of the trees over the burn area, but although visibly frightened by the commotion bellow, it escaped unscathed," he told us by email.
You wouldn't have thought it was all so under control by the scene around the park, however. Some of these photos look downright apocalyptic (literally). So I guess the question is what looks scarier — this controlled burn or the Silent Hill film set?
All photographs by Tom Ryaboi. Check out more of his work at his website, Blursurfing.
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Nice pics :)
love/hate relationship with those little buggers.
i cant believe they do this!
ya cute shot of a terrified raccoon
that shit should be bagged and burned off site
All you have demonstrated is your lack of comprehension.
The internet is your friend. You should research the benefits of using such a process.
The only bullshit is your ignorance, and willingness to get upset without taking the time to educate yourself.
BOOO!! I thought you Tory hired hacks only trolled political stories, now you're branching out into general interest, too?
Say it isn't so.
That said, you can't do controlled burns everywhere. Most residential areas or even rural areas close to built up areas wouldn't be wise. They could do it in this case because the area looked well tended and there were roads all around for easy access for fire crews if it started to run wild. If an area is too overgrown, you can't do this because the fire will get too strong and run wild. Also, if it is too dry, low humidity or windy, it shouldn't be done for the same reasons. Still, they do get out of hand now because proper precautions aren't taken.
As for the animals, in most cases they will be running away from the humans in the first place. Those that don't will run from the fire. In rural areas they have plenty of space to run to. Raccoons have an instinct to climb to escape danger. That's not usually a problem in controlled burns since the fire should stay low to the ground.
High Park is one of the remnant Tallgrass Prairies in Ontario. Tallgrass prairies are one of the most endangered ecosystems in North America.
Controlled burns mimic nature in that the species commmon in a Tallgrass Prairie (Big Bluestem, Indian grass, Switch grass) are able to withstand these burns, with root systems which go as deep as 60 feet down and easily regenerate, as opposed to plant species with shallow lateral root systems.
These burns help control invasive species while maintaining the health and viability of prairie species.
Now I want one of those flamethrower ATV's they were using.... Oh man, talk about pyrotechnic fantasies!
As was already pointed out, most of those critters are only temporarily displaced and will not be harmed. The most vulnerable in the park are slow movers like turtles (likely close to the pond anyway) and some snakes. Nesting has begun for songbirds but we're still about a week away or so for the eggs of the first nesters such as the robins, who typically build their nests closer to the ground. That would be my guess as the main reason they do it now, and not later in the Spring.
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