Through the Livermore Valley and over Altamont Pass, Interstate Highway 580 is one of the main corridors out of the San Francisco Bay Area. As I pass through a landscape, I often feel it calling to me to look closer, but not when I travel through the bare hills near Altamont Pass. The myriad windmills and the absence of a plant taller than your knee make for a bleak scene. There is little to tempt the wandering soul.
Citing "the extreme menace of wildfire and its potential to destroy life, property, and natural resources" following continued dry conditions, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection last week suspended open burning in many areas of the state, including San Benito County.