Deane Rimerman's Eucalyptus Fog Drip Myth

There is a guest post at the milliontrees blog, by self described "student of the forest", Deane Rimerman. Deane it appears, suffers from the same confirmation bias as all the other HCN zealots.

Deane offers the anecdote, that, once upon a time,  while working with a forester, the forester told him that coast redwoods could add the equivalent of 7 inches of fog drip during the dry season.

He then makes the absurd claim that eucalyptus and Monterey pine could do the same.

Arguing that eucalyptus are comparable to coast redwoods is ludicrous.

These photos I took this morning thoroughly debunk this notion.

The fog came in early Saturday evening and  was still quite thick at 9am.

Coastal fog in eucalypti

What better time to test the theory that eucalyptus are the equivalent of coast redwoods.

The redwoods are in the distance, shrouded in fog.
The trail is moistened in the foreground by the young oak canopy.

Here is the ground beneath the young redwoods.

A steady shower from the canopy above has saturated the ground below.

Here is the ground beneath a small oak.

Brush moistened by fog drip from a young oak tree

And here is the ground beneath a much larger eucalyptus.

Not enough drip on the pavement to create beading.

It is because HCN and their milliontrees blog are so adamant about spreading these lies, that I feel compelled to debunk their nonsense with visual evidence!

2011 Australian Eucalyptus Fire BBC Documentary

Here is a BBC documentary of a eucalyptus fire in Australia.

I started it at the relevant point in 1 of 4. If you have the time watch the entire set.
Here is the 2 of 4.

3 of 4

and 4 of 4

Eradicating these trees from the Claremont Canyon and our urban woodlands is paramount to reducing fire hazard.

Mid-Canyon Forest

Here are the photos of the big mixed native/eucalyptus grove across Claremont from Restoration site 29.

UPDATE: I was pressed for time when I originally published these photos. I am now adding some context and commentary.

Eucalyptus are poison to the native soil microbes. This toxicity, combined with the dense leaf, bark, and branch litter suppresses growth around the trees. However, the sparse canopy allows plenty of light to penetrate to the floor. With no rivals, poison oak dominates.

Poison oak thrives under eucalyptus

Note the bark in the upper left corner. It is already 20 feet in the air. Imagine where it is is going to end up when the diablo winds blow, and the canyon catches fire. That bark, or the tons more like it can be ignited and blown for miles by a fire in the canyon.

Fuel ladders to canopy are everywhere

These are regrowth from cut sprouts. It doesn't take long before there base looks like a bonfire ready to be set.

Young eucalyptus sprouts pile bark and tinder at their base

This is part of the target area for UC Berkeley.

Compare these pictures with restoration site 29.

Please send your comments to FEMA before June 17, supporting the restoration plan.

Area 29 Restoration

Todays pictures are from the area 29 restoration site. Here is a photo of young grove of coastal redwoods.

Coast redwoods are very efficient at extracting moisture from the fog

More redwoods have also been planted in this area. 

Redwoods are the perfect tree to suppress fire in the Claremont Canyon.

Click for Album

Here is what seems to grow well in the soil devoid of native microbes.

A two foot thick flammable carpet.

Take a closer look.

Native ferns in the upper left corner

 Closer.

Eucalyptus bark and leaves intertwined with poison oak vines.

That there are people who believe that these trees integrate well into the native woodland is mind boggling. The only reason I can think of for believing such nonsense is; they lack knowledge.

This is what we can expect the restoration to look like across the road, once the eucalyptus are gone. While not perfect, the restoration areas are without a doubt less fire prone. And I would argue that the flora in the restored area... ...is far more inviting than the flora in the eucalyptus groves.

It is my hope that this evidence will convince everyone to support the eradication and restoration project.

The Rispin Grove.

Here are the photos of the Rispin/Claremont grove.

I looks benign enough from across the street, but the canopy is deceptive. This is probably the most dangerous of all the groves.

Grove from Rispin drive

Piles of bark and tinder build up around the base of a eucalyptus

It has tons of fuel on the floor, fuel ladders to the canopy, and is within 100 feet of residential buildings.

1991 Oakland Hills Firestorm

I wanted to share this video of the 1991 firestorm. Brought to you by the National Wildland/Urban Interface Fire Protection Program.



Here is a storify thread from the fires 20th anniversary.

This is not about our feelings for trees. It is about the real and present danger these trees pose to the lives and property of East Bay residents.

The Claremont/Alvarado Eucalyptus Grove.

Here some photos of the small, seemingly harmless eucalyptus grove at Alvarado and Claremont Avenue.

What harm is there to have a few of these tall trees a couple of hundred yards from your home?

The Hills Conservation Network would have you believe that these trees are no more dangerous than native bay oak woodlands. That there is no fuel ladder to the crown. That the native bays are more dangerous because their canopy is closer to the ground. That is a blatant lie, as these photos show.

They also argue that these trees integrate well with the existing native woodlands. Another specious lie based on their misinterpretation of the abstract of a 2002 study by Dov Sax

Their argument has now morphed since I questioned their interpretation of the 2002 study and provided them a link to the actual published research. They now argue that eucalyptus integrate well with other local species. HCN makes no distinction or cites any preference between native and invasive species. As these pictures will demonstrate, the species that integrated so well with this grove of eucalypti is French Broom, which amplifies the fire danger posed by these trees.



I invite everyone to look at these pictures and decide for yourself whether or not Dan Grassetti's cover story is a lie. Feel free to leave him a comment, and share this link on his website.