I was trying to explain to someone how things have changed since the beetles invaded, why we're putting such effort into controlling it, why we have such strange events around it -- and it was kind of hard. But thanks to modern technology (Google Earth) I have opportunities for visual aids. For the sake of clarity, I'll point out that this isn't necessarily representative of the whole region. There are areas that haven't yet been hit to speak of, and plenty of spots where the damage is minimal. But there are also places where the trees have been all but wiped out, and the Harney Peak area is one of those, partially because it started right around there. So here's that region about a decade ago. From here you're looking at roughly a mile across. Wait. That's a terrible shot. Something was wrong with their overlay, clearly. Those arrows indicate where there haven't been trees for ... heck, possibly ever. Especially the one on the right...
