crapaudmatic: La Pulente

Showing posts with label La Pulente. Show all posts

Wednesday, 12 October 2011

Devasted Headland - a follow-up

In a previous post a couple of weeks ago, I covered the story of
fire-fails-to-devastate-headland and the quote of the affected area being "the size of 14 football pitches". It turns out that 14 Subbuteo tables would be nearer the mark!

As Nick Palmer kindly commented, "I am very familiar with the La Pulente headland having flown over it in my hang glider for several decades. I was expecting our take off area and everything else to have been wiped out but, on visiting it, I was amazed at how small the damaged area was... The actual burnt area is at most the size of one football pitch."

This shot from September did show just about all the damage!

It didn't reach inland along the top of the headland, the dolmen "La Sergente" wasn't harmed.

The wooden fence/style/anti-mountain-biker-measure (for want of a proper word for it!) at the top of the first pic is near the end of the burn area.

Looking downwards to Petit Port and Corbiere...

.. and left a bit.

So, like the TV reports, it's easy to take shots of scorched gorse with the lighthouse in the distance...

.. while concealing the true extent of the damage.

I can only imagine that, perhaps, the fireman said that an area the size of 14 football pitches was at risk - and the reporters misheard or chose to sensationalise.

Sloppy! Would you expect that, before going to press (or to air), a good journo would call back the fire service after the event to double-check their facts?

Thursday, 29 September 2011

Fire fails to devastate headland

CTV reported "Fire devastates headland", "a large fire", "an area said to be the same size as 14 football pitches".

I expected devastation all the way from La Pulente to Petit Port down to the bunker on the headland point, by the sound of it. A scorched headland blighting the view from both directions.

View Larger Map

I was puzzled why they only reported with quite tight shots, not really showing the area affected in any clear way. No wide angle shots from a distance to put it into context and really show us the size of the 'devastation'. I assumed it was lazy reporting - hardly the first time. I mean, what - drive around to Corbiere and show us the view from there?!

So I took a look for myself...

Nothing to see from La Pulente, it's all green/brown here. No devastation visible, unless that's a hint of some bare gorse branches on the very ridge - but it seems to be on the wrong side of the tree compared to the shots from the other side...

.. so I took the trouble to head to the other side. Coming around from Corbiere to Petit Port, there's a small blackened patch to the right of the footpath...

View Larger Map

.. I'd bet it was "carelessly discarded smoking materials" from a right-handed idiot walking towards La Pulente.

From by the railway walk up near the old Corbiere station.

While there are flat-ish areas up top, where the path is routed it goes up to a ridge, and then quite soon drops down again to La Pulente. So if little damage is visible from the other direction, this must be about it.

The "14 football pitches" estimate puzzles me. In this picture from Google maps, I've superimposed Springfield pitch at the same scale near the area. The only bits I've seen burnt or untouched would struggle to cover 2 or 3 pitches!

The BBC also reported (www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-jersey-15058464) Crew commander Chris Powell saying "about 2296ft by 656ft (700 by 200 metres)".

OK, according to en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Association_football_pitch standard football pitches are between 90-120m long, and the widths can double from 45-90m! "105m (115yd) by 68m (74yd), or 7140 m², is the preferred size for many professional teams' stadiums".

So if Mr Powell's "700 by 200 metres" size is correct, then it is indeed in line with 14 pitches. Just doesn't seem like it, somehow, does it? Overall I'm left with an impression of sloppy journalism. What a surprise!

Sunday, 4 July 2010

Sea Mist

A day of sea mists last week - here's the wispy stuff...

.. rolling in up the cliffs at the north coast.

Lots of people taking photos here as well as me.

The kart people would have you believe that no-one ever comes to the Ronez loop road - I'm sure the coach-loads of tourists would disagree! It would be a sad day for the island if a minority manage to take over this area for their own use and keep us motorists out. They say that their takeover plans include a parking area still, but that's around the corner with no good view of the other islands. It's not the same to make us get out of the car and walk around to this excellent viewpoint (the only place where you can see so much of France and all the way around to the south of Guernsey) because many people can't walk very far and those of us who can may not really want to on a cold day when the view would be better enjoyed from the comfort of the car - as we have been able to for many years.

But enough despairing about people selfishly wanting to grab a slice of valuable COASTAL AREA for a hobby that could be enjoyed elsewhere more easily (if only another load of selfish NIMBY people would let them!).........

The mist rolled in along the 5 mile bay...

.. closer...

.. and closer.

It was asking a bit much of my "cheap glass" (photographers' lens-speak!) to get a clear shot from this distance, but here's the "chateau" shopping place which seems to have closed now - the canopy which was over the entrance is now lying forlornly in front of the doorway.