There are sections of the American River Parkway that look like another planet.

Stephen Green was standing in front of one of those places on Friday. The ground was gray and powdery. Charred logs lay splintered on the ground. What was left of a small tree stood by itself among the emptiness.

Was this the fire that burned 30 acres in early August? Or was it the big one on the Fourth of July that nearly messed up a fireworks show atCal Expo and delayed a Sacramento Republic FC soccer match? It could have been the blaze that shut down the Cap City Freeway during the commute one evening in July.

One more question: Who can we blame for this?

“People have to respect this resource,” Green said. “And I don’t think a lot of them do.”

Green has lived in a home that backs up to the parkway for 34 years. He’s president of the Save the American River Association and is heavily invested in what happens here.

So is everyone in this city. By some estimates, the parkway gets 8 million visitors a year. You won’t find a natural resource this big running through the middle of many American cities.

There are fires on the parkway every summer. It’s just that there have been a lot more this year, more than anyone can remember. City firefighters have battled a half-dozen or so blazes already this year that they would consider major. The one on the Fourth of July destroyed 160 acres.

More at SacBee.com >>>