1. 25 Sep


    The view from the fourth highest and most Southern of Murdock Mountain’s peaks. This is looking Southeast from 7800 feet elevation. Notice the section of trees in the middle where a forest fire took out the vegetation a couple of years ago.  Fire is the biggest threat to life and property here in the Pinyon-Juniper forest as 840 acres is consumed per hour in a full blaze. In the lower elevations, where Sagebrush and Cheatgrass dominate, fires can burn 3400 acres per hour and move very quickly in certain directions, namely uphill and downwind. This poses a difficult challenge for the buildings constructed at the Data Center since they are all on hillsides with high wind exposure. The Bureau of Land Management recommends removing all vegetation 75 feet on the downhill side and 35 feet on the uphill side of any structure. The team is working to meet this goal, though our chainsaw is about at the end of its useful life.

    The view from the fourth highest and most Southern of Murdock Mountain’s peaks. This is looking Southeast from 7800 feet elevation. Notice the section of trees in the middle where a forest fire took out the vegetation a couple of years ago.  Fire is the biggest threat to life and property here in the Pinyon-Juniper forest as 840 acres is consumed per hour in a full blaze. In the lower elevations, where Sagebrush and Cheatgrass dominate, fires can burn 3400 acres per hour and move very quickly in certain directions, namely uphill and downwind. This poses a difficult challenge for the buildings constructed at the Data Center since they are all on hillsides with high wind exposure. The Bureau of Land Management recommends removing all vegetation 75 feet on the downhill side and 35 feet on the uphill side of any structure. The team is working to meet this goal, though our chainsaw is about at the end of its useful life.