I haven't even really talked to anyone today or anything, but since I talked to my dad about desert stuff yesterday, I just can't seem to stop thinking about it. I'm just fixated on it again. And it sprinkled for maybe about five minutes before it stopped and then there was no more rain. So I decided to share information on rain in desert climates. It's below the cut, so if you're not interested, just scroll along until you find something else that makes you happy.
A lot of people seem to be under the impression that the desert doesn't actually need rain because the ground water should be sufficient. Every time it's monsoon season, I hear a lot of people around me complaining about how the rain is bad because now new plants will grow and then it will be really dry and that means that the fires are going to be worse when they get started. And to be fair, the Monument Fire in 2011 was absolutely devastating at the time. A lot of people lost their homes. When people were told to evacuate, the pet store I was working for offered free lodging for the animals that they could - birds, guinea pigs, hamsters, snakes, that kind of thing. It was family owned and not very large. And some of those people didn't come back to get their pets. We saw them again around town. They didn't die in the fire. But they weren't living somewhere they could keep pets or something so they just never came back or contacted us or anything. It was an absolutely horrible fire. And some of the attitudes of "fire is bad and should be prevented at all cost" are completely understandable. Especially when it comes to people's homes.
However, fires are also a natural part of any ecosystem outside of human intervention. In a weird way, you can think of it as part of the life cycle that only comes around from time to time. It comes in, burns away the extra that's crowding out what's needed, and the ashes are used to help grow and strengthen what's left. Humans interrupt the cycle or cause fires that weren't meant to happen.
Now you might be thinking. What does this have to do with rain in the desert? Well, I'll tell you. Most deserts don't get much rain. It's a whole thing. But a lot of them get a monsoon season, where they get a lot of rain and thunderstoms for a couple of months before the clouds move along. A good monsoon season will be able to soak through the top layer of earth and help replenish the ground water for the rest of the year. And while new growth happens and means there is more that can burn, it also means that a lot of the plants aren't going to be nearly as dry as they would be if there wasn't any rain. So they're harder to burn. Have you ever tried to/seen anyone try to start a fire with wood that hasn't been dried? It might happen eventually, but it's gonna be a pain in the ass. Dry wood will light for you right away. A healthy desert with a good monsoon season does not have raging, out of control wildfires. Rain is good for every climate.
And if you're thinking "are they gonna blame global warming and climate change for droughts and wildfires?" The answer is: Yes. Yes, I am. I also blame the Arizona and Colorado state governments. And Phoenix, Arizona. Because the 2 states share the water rights for the Colorado river, which is slowly being drained and will eventually be gone all together. And because the city of Phoenix, Arizona by itself uses more water to maintain itself than the rest of the state combined. And it's more water than the land in the state can manage to give without slowly destroying the entire state's ecosystems.
And if you're still wondering at this point. I do, in fact, hate Phoenix. I have been to Phoenix many times for many reasons and every time I'm there, I feel like I'm entering hell itself. It's the worst. The whole area would probably be about 15-20 degrees cooler if it wasn't for the asphalt, concrete, and glass constantly retaining heat and reflecting it back to retain more.
I hate Tucson too, but to a lesser degree. And mostly because downton Tucson has decided to model itself after Phoenix for some reason with the new skyscrapers and shit when the rest of Tucson doesn't often go above 4 or 5 floors, so you can still see the world around you and not just building after building after building.
But to get off my rambling about Phoenix and Tucson, which are two cities I don't live in and only go to when necessary, and talk about the rain again. The rain also sustains a lot of the people who live here that don't live in those cities. I know that in some states it's illegal to collect rainwater, but it's not here. And there are also a lot of people who still use well water. So rain in the desert is a good thing. Especially during monsoon season. Which is the pretty much the only time we get quality rain.
