Sunrise 6:04: Surveying the damaged Dish

Every since a fire burned over 100 acres in the Big Dish area of Stanford land, the female Dawn Jogger has been curious about what burned. (And also frustrated that the resulting Dish closure prevented her from getting her twice a week "Big Dish runs" in.) She couldn't see the fire damage from either the Junipero Serra gate closest to Lake Lagunita (as opposed to the one near Stanford Avenue) or the Piers Lane entrance off of Alpine. Today, she surveyed the damage firsthand when the Dish reopened to the public. (The "Yes, we're open" signs have a more ominous "We're closed" message on the back, signaling that the Dish may be closed at any time, no longer keeping its posted "regular" seasonal hours.) The fire came close to the Dish itself, but stayed on the other side of the asphalt jogging/walking path. Its cut a wide path up the center of the land open to the public, the area between the "up trails" from the two Junipero Serra entrances. Not surprisingly, due to the fact it was started by children playing with matches, it straddled a good mile of so of the public path. The grassland will undoubtedly grow back, but she's not so sure about the charred oak. Sufficient time had passes that the smell of fire had gone. This landscape is but one of many that is changing...