N ormally, the end of winter and the blooming of spring is cause for celebration and good spirits. Sadly, as the season started to get underway, Hudson Valley residents were greeted with what has been called the worst forest fire to hit our area in 13 years. Such a chaotic and disastrous turn of events can't help but force people to notice their surroundings and take stock of nature and the environment within which we work and live. It should give us pause to consider ourselves, and the land that we call home.

There's something fundamentally unsettling about a forest fire. Beyond the obvious tragedy such an event carries, there's a greater and more sinister aspect that we as residents here should make sure not to ignore. Land is not supposed to simply burn — at least, not at such a colossal magnitude. The Department of Environmental Conservation was looking to conduct prescribed burns in Minnewaska State Park to avoid the disaster, but it seems as though nature beat them to it. 3,100 acres raging with flames: the enormity of that number is frightening, and more than a little representative of our troubled relationship with Mother Earth.

For most area residents, the fire was at first nothing more than an inconvenience — a longer drive due to detours, an unpleasant scent of smoke in the air, and maybe even a photo opportunity. To the firefighters who had to deal with the fire, it certainly was much more.

In the backs of our minds, these dramatic and unusual "natural" events should disturb us. In an abnormally warm and dry April, could this be yet another example of our rapidly changing climate? Gasoline prices continue to shoot upward, causing a strain on our wallets, and worries over having hit "peak oil" seem to hang over our heads. But consider this: were we to suddenly find vast new untapped sources of oil, which would send prices back down, and we were able to feed our millions of cars and machines without worry for years to come, would that really be cause for celebration?

Probably not.

As it stands, our see-sawing weather over the past few months should be clear enough a sign to anyone with functioning eyes that our climate is not normal. In case you didn't get the message then, though, we've just lived through another telegram, special delivery, from nature itself: 3,100 acres has gone up in flames. Maybe you should not buy that "eco-friendly" SUV that gets a whopping 23 miles per gallon. Maybe you should get a bike.

Scientists and politicians will argue about the data no matter how obvious the facts seem. But the gut level sense many have is that humans are affecting the planet in fundamental — and possibly irrevocable — ways, and no matter how "natural" an event like a forest fire may be, we must be somehow responsible.

Every forest fire requires a spark, but if there is no fuel, the spark harmlessly goes out. For the length of human history we've showered planet Earth with so many sparks that they've created an impressive display of fireworks — with little lasting effect. Last weekend, however, we caught a glimpse what happens when human activity becomes the fuel.

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