Be thankful for the rain. The new media are focused on fires out west, but in the last 15 years there have been two serious fires on the Shawangunk Ridge.

If you look around the world, the fire problems are scarier than ever. Greece is a prime example of how fires burn hotter and destroy larger areas now because of warmer weather making drier forests.

The first fire on our ridge was in the Minnewaska area. There were feature articles in major newspapers about this event because it burned such large patches of woodland.

The second fire occurred about five years ago in an area approximately ranging from Spring Glen to Summitville – It was started accidentally when new property owners tried to burn brush out of season. Many local fire companies (and firemen from beyond) fourth this blaze. A specially outfitted helicopter flew down from Canada to drop water bombs are refill at a local lake.

The backstop plan must have been to keep fire from jumping across Route 209 and to protect the few houses just east of 209. In one spot, you could see where the fire almost reached the highway. Had it crossed over, there were many houses that could have been lost. Everybody should be concerned about the future potentialities of a hot, dry, summer.

Meanwhile there is yet a better example of climate change in the Hudson Valley. Until about 30 years ago, the trees would not be fully leafed out until the end of May. A rather sudden shift moved this event to mid-May. In September there would almost always be a killing frost by the end of the month. Starting about 30 years ago, the frost would almost always arrive later. This year it was in November.

Remember this is happening everywhere. For example, in southern Italy, it was discovered at least 20 years ago that a rise in temperature allowed mango trees to thrive, so you can now say that parts of southern Italy are actually in the tropics.

Allan Frank

Phillipsport