Lightning Safety Awareness Week takes place annually in June, this year from June 19 through June 25 . The week emphasizes indoor safety and outdoor risk reduction tips, lightning medical facts, and the science of lightning.

Lightning has been seen in volcanic eruptions, extremely intense forest fires, surface nuclear detonations, heavy snowstorms, and in large hurricanes. However, you can see it most often in thunderstorms. In fact, lightning (and the thunder that results) is what makes a thunderstorm. Lightning can occur from cloud-to-cloud, cloud-to-ground, cloud-to-air, or within a cloud.

Thunderstorms and lightning are most likely to develop on hot, humid days. If you see lightning, take protective action, such as seeking shelter, immediately. According to the National Weather Service (NWS), a safe building has a roof, walls, and a floor, such as a home, school, office building, or a shopping center. They provide safety because lightning will usually travel through the wiring or the plumbing into the ground. Additional lightning safety tips are available from the NWS.

Please note: All lightning victims should have a medical examination. Call the local emergency department for help. Get to the victim as quickly as possible; it is not dangerous to touch someone hit by lightning. Check for injuries, but do not move a suspected spinal injury victim.

 

Look out for Hungry Bears
Everett, Wash., June 13, 2011--A long winter and low-elevation snow are driving black bears from the North Cascades into campgrounds and backyards looking for food. They just came out of hibernation, so they are hungry. In the absence of sufficient bear food, they forage people cuisine, enjoying picnics stored in ice chests, snacking from backyard bird feeders, tasting camping snacks left in the tent and scarfing leftover pizza and beer thrown into the garbage.

“Bears are lazy, if the food is hard to get they usually go on to find something easy,” said wildlife biologist Jessie Plumage for the Mt. Baker-Snoqualmie National Forest. That can pose a threat to humans, as demonstrated by Woodlawn Park Zoo's grizzlies this month as they tore through an exhibit staged with a tent, lawn chairs, a cooler, pots and pans looking for food.

“Don’t feed the bears,” Plumage said.

The Grizzly Bear Outreach Project offers tips to stay safe around bears when camping:

•         Avoid camping next to trails or streams as bears and other wildlife use these as travel routes,
•         Avoid camping near natural bear food sources such as berries,
•         Never leave food unattended in your campsite unless it is properly stored,
•         Do not bring food or odorous non-food items into your tent. This includes chocolate, candy, wrappers, toothpaste, perfume, deodorant, feminine hygiene products, insect repellent and lip balm,
•         Place food in bear-resistant storage containers or store it in your vehicle,
•         Locate your cooking area at least 100 yards downwind from your tent,
•         Avoid cooking greasy or odorous foods,
•         Wash all dishes and cans immediately after eating. Wash the dishes and dump the dishwater at least 100 yards from your campsite,
•         Garbage should be deposited in bear-resistant garbage cans or stored in your vehicle until it can be dumped.

 Demali, a grizzly from Washington State University, rips up a campsite looking for food during a demonstration at Woodland Park Zoo in Seattle, Wash.

Look for more information about how to stay safe around bears:  http://bearinfo.org/.
 

Folks can join the River Stewards for a Saturday evening to learn about salmon and stream ecology in the Nooksack River while snacking on smoked salmon, cream cheese and crackers around the campfire. Sunday mornings go for a walk up the Horseshoe Bend Trail and discover the vast aquatic mysteries of rivers and riparian zones.  All River Stewards events are family-friendly, free and no registration required. For more information contact Lindsay Taylor at 360-715-0283 x112 or This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it .

Wild About Salmon Campfire Talk, Saturdays 6 p.m., July 9-Sept. 3
Douglas Fir Campground Picnic Shelter--From Glacier, Wash.,  travel 2.5 miles east on Mt. Baker Highway SR542. The campground is located on the west side of the highway, just after crossing the North Fork Nooksack River near mile post 35.