美国国家公共电台 NPR--People in New Mexico brace for other issues a menacing wildfire will create

People in New Mexico brace¹ for other issues a menacing wildfire will create

Transcript²

As the largest wildfire in New Mexico's history continues to grow, efforts to prevent mudslides and protect drinking water are underway.

LEILA FADEL, HOST:

The biggest fire in New Mexico's history is still growing, and officials are struggling to prevent mudslides and protect the clean water that's especially precious in the arid³ southwest. From member station KUNM, Alice Fordham reports.

(SOUNDBITE OF AIRPLANE FLYING OVERHEAD)

ALICE FORDHAM, BYLINE⁴: Firefighting aircraft buzz over Las Vegas, N.M., as the Calf⁵ Canyon⁶/Hermits Peak fire continues raging to the north. But here, city utilities director Maria Gilvarry is already contemplating⁷ the aftermath.

MARIA GILVARRY: So this area that we're looking down on is directly over - it's over the Gallinas River.

FORDHAM: Gilvarry has driven us to look down at a rocky canyon onto the city's only water source.

GILVARRY: It's sad 'cause this whole mountainside, just a little over a month ago, was - looked like that section down there - tall, green pine trees.

FORDHAM: Now, there's maybe a two-mile stretch of the blackened remnants of tree trunks and ashy moon dust.

GILVARRY: All of those - possibly hundreds of thousands of former bushy pine trees at some point are going to come down.

FORDHAM: Without intervention⁸, in a few weeks, the southwestern rains known as the monsoon⁹ will likely wash away the trees and soil, contaminating the river and clogging¹⁰ the treatment system. Gilvarry is working with engineers.

GILVARRY: To find ways to create debris¹¹ barricades¹² - something to hold back these trees.

FORDHAM: She's having lots of meetings with FEMA, Army engineers, with forestry¹³ officials. This kind of work can cost tens of millions. Back in her office, I ask who's going to pay.

GILVARRY: Depends on who's the entity¹⁴ that's responsible for that area. They're going to have to help find who's going to help pay for it.

FORDHAM: Debate about who foots the bill may drag on. The fires that got out of control here were started as planned burns by the U.S. Forest Service. New Mexico Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham has called for the federal government to pay for the damage, and such debates are likely to become more common.

FERNANDO ROSARIO-ORTIZ: The fire season you keep hearing - that used to be so many months over the summer. Now, we're getting to be year-round.

FORDHAM: This is Fernando Rosario-Ortiz, a professor at the University of Colorado, Boulder¹⁵. He studies the effect of fire on water sources.

ROSARIO-ORTIZ: The major forested areas in the western United States - you know, that's when we see fires, but that's also where we're getting the water from.

FORDHAM: According to government data, about 80% of the U.S.'s freshwater resource originates on forested land. Rosario-Ortiz says there's more planning for wildfire impact on water.

ROSARIO-ORTIZ: I've worked directly with utilities in the East Coast, even in the upstate, where maybe you don't think so much about fires, but it's not hard to fathom¹⁶ a future where fires can impact on New England as well.

FORDHAM: In New Mexico, some smaller communities don't think they're going to get help soon.

(SOUNDBITE OF FOOTSTEPS ON SAND)

FORDHAM: In the town of Chacon, which has about 115 homes, I hike up into the charred¹⁷ mountainside with Jerry Martinez (ph), who manages water here.

JERRY MARTINEZ: It's going to be a mess when the rain gets here. If we get the monsoons¹⁸ that we normally get, all of this will be down in that canyon in there.

FORDHAM: That will contaminate the water used for livestock¹⁹ and crops. He also says, after the fire, a spring used for drinking water has changed course.

MARTINEZ: It's pitiful. I don't know what the answer is.

(SOUNDBITE OF CAR DOOR CLOSING)

FORDHAM: And as we drive out of the valley, a gust²⁰ of wind teases a little plume²¹ of smoke as we watch flames lick up and begin to burn another mountainside.

For NPR News, I'm Alice Fordham.

1 brace   

n. 支柱,曲柄,大括号; v. 绷紧,顶住,(为困难或坏事)做准备

参考例句：

• My daughter has to wear a brace on her teeth. 我的女儿得戴牙套以矫正牙齿。
• You had better brace yourself for some bad news. 有些坏消息,你最好做好准备。

2 transcript   

n.抄本，誊本，副本，肄业证书

参考例句：

• A transcript of the tapes was presented as evidence in court.一份录音带的文字本作为证据被呈交法庭。
• They wouldn't let me have a transcript of the interview.他们拒绝给我一份采访的文字整理稿。

3 arid   

adj.干旱的；(土地)贫瘠的

参考例句：

• These trees will shield off arid winds and protect the fields.这些树能挡住旱风,保护农田。
• There are serious problems of land degradation in some arid zones.在一些干旱地带存在严重的土地退化问题。

4 byline   

n.署名；v.署名

参考例句：

• His byline was absent as well.他的署名也不见了。
• We wish to thank the author of this article which carries no byline.我们要感谢这篇文章的那位没有署名的作者。

5 calf   

n.小牛，犊，幼仔，小牛皮

参考例句：

• The cow slinked its calf.那头母牛早产了一头小牛犊。
• The calf blared for its mother.牛犊哞哞地高声叫喊找妈妈。

6 canyon   

n.峡谷，溪谷

参考例句：

• The Grand Canyon in the USA is 1900 metres deep.美国的大峡谷1900米深。
• The canyon is famous for producing echoes.这个峡谷以回声而闻名。

7 contemplating   

深思，细想，仔细考虑( contemplate的现在分词 )； 注视，凝视； 考虑接受（发生某事的可能性）； 深思熟虑，沉思，苦思冥想

参考例句：

• You're too young to be contemplating retirement. 你考虑退休还太年轻。
• She stood contemplating the painting. 她站在那儿凝视那幅图画。

8 intervention   

n.介入，干涉，干预

参考例句：

• The government's intervention in this dispute will not help.政府对这场争论的干预不会起作用。
• Many people felt he would be hostile to the idea of foreign intervention.许多人觉得他会反对外来干预。

9 monsoon   

n.季雨，季风，大雨

参考例句：

• The monsoon rains started early this year.今年季雨降雨开始得早。
• The main climate type in that region is monsoon.那个地区主要以季风气候为主要气候类型。

10 clogging   

堵塞，闭合

参考例句：

• This process suffers mainly from clogging the membrane. 这种过程的主要问题是滤膜的堵塞。
• And you know that eyewitness that's been clogging up the airwaves? 你知道那个充斥着电视广播的目击证人？

11 debris   

n.瓦砾堆，废墟，碎片

参考例句：

• After the bombing there was a lot of debris everywhere.轰炸之后到处瓦砾成堆。
• Bacteria sticks to food debris in the teeth,causing decay.细菌附着在牙缝中的食物残渣上，导致蛀牙。

12 barricades   

路障，障碍物( barricade的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• The police stormed the barricades the demonstrators had put up. 警察冲破了示威者筑起的街垒。
• Others died young, in prison or on the barricades. 另一些人年轻时就死在监牢里或街垒旁。

13 forestry   

n.森林学；林业

参考例句：

• At present, the Chinese forestry is being at a significant transforming period. 当前, 我国的林业正处于一个重大的转折时期。
• Anhua is one of the key forestry counties in Hunan province. 安化县是湖南省重点林区县之一。

14 entity   

n.实体，独立存在体，实际存在物

参考例句：

• The country is no longer one political entity.这个国家不再是一个统一的政治实体了。
• As a separate legal entity,the corporation must pay taxes.作为一个独立的法律实体，公司必须纳税。

15 boulder   

n.巨砾；卵石，圆石

参考例句：

• We all heaved together and removed the boulder.大家一齐用劲，把大石头搬开了。
• He stepped clear of the boulder.他从大石头后面走了出来。

16 fathom   

v.领悟，彻底了解

参考例句：

• I really couldn't fathom what he was talking about.我真搞不懂他在说些什么。
• What these people hoped to achieve is hard to fathom.这些人希望实现些什么目标难以揣测。

17 charred   

v.把…烧成炭( char的过去式)；烧焦

参考例句：

• the charred remains of a burnt-out car 被烧焦的轿车残骸
• The intensity of the explosion is recorded on the charred tree trunks. 那些烧焦的树干表明爆炸的强烈。 来自《简明英汉词典》

18 monsoons   

n.（南亚、尤指印度洋的）季风( monsoon的名词复数 )；（与季风相伴的）雨季；（南亚地区的）雨季

参考例句：

• In Ban-gladesh, the monsoons have started. 在孟加拉，雨季已经开始了。 来自辞典例句
• The coastline significantly influences the monsoons in two other respects. 海岸线在另外两个方面大大地影响季风。 来自辞典例句

19 livestock   

n.家畜，牲畜

参考例句：

• Both men and livestock are flourishing.人畜两旺。
• The heavy rains and flooding killed scores of livestock.暴雨和大水淹死了许多牲口。

20 gust   

n.阵风，突然一阵（雨、烟等），（感情的）迸发

参考例句：

• A gust of wind blew the front door shut.一阵大风吹来，把前门关上了。
• A gust of happiness swept through her.一股幸福的暖流流遍她的全身。

21 plume   

n.羽毛；v.整理羽毛，骚首弄姿，用羽毛装饰

参考例句：

• Her hat was adorned with a plume.她帽子上饰着羽毛。
• He does not plume himself on these achievements.他并不因这些成就而自夸。