Social Media Drives Super Bloom ‘Apocalypse’ in California

 

A California city has been caught unprepared by people coming to experience a colorful “super bloom¹” of desert flowers.

We reported last week on this rare event happening in areas around southern California’s Anza-Borrego Desert State Park. The park sits about 250 kilometers southeast of Los Angeles. The area is usually a dry desert.

A super bloom is when huge amounts of desert flowers open, or bloom, at the same time. This year’s happening came after heavy rainfall during the winter. The rainy period was followed by warm, sunny conditions at the start of spring.

In the past, super blooms² have only happened about once every 10 years. But this year’s event marked California’s second super bloom in just two years.

The area’s desert flowers include several different kinds of poppy plants. Park officials say among the blooming flowers are sand verbena, desert sunflower, brown-eyed primrose³ and desert lilies.

Large bursts of colorful blooms have also covered hillside areas and areas along roads in several communities. One such community is Lake Elsinore, a small city about 110 kilometers from Los Angeles.

Lake Elsinore has a population of about 60,000. Local officials say the super bloom has brought up to 50,000 people per day to the hillsides around the city.

One reason for the huge crowds is that so many people are sharing their pictures of the super bloom on social media. In fact, the hashtag #superbloom has been used more than 100,000 times on Instagram. Pictures are also being shared widely on Twitter and Facebook.

In the past two weeks, many super bloom fans came to Lake Elsinore to follow a hiking path through the local hillsides. The tens of thousands of visitors have caused problems for people who live and work in the area.

The most serious problems have involved traffic. Local officials say the large crowds have made it difficult or even impossible for some local people to leave their homes.

Nicole Dailey is a spokeswoman for the city of Lake Elsinore. She told Reuters that, this year, the area saw a large increase in both blooming flowers and the number of visitors. “We did not expect the crowds that we saw,” Dailey said. “Our freeways and our cities are not designed for crowds that you see in Los Angeles."

At one point last weekend, officials decided⁴ to close the hillside trail in Lake Elsinore to stop the flood of people. The city sought help from state and local police agencies⁵ to help deal with the traffic around the hillsides, where no public parking exists.

The mayor⁶ of Lake Elsinore, Steve Manos, wrote on Facebook Saturday that a city employee was struck by a hit-and-run driver in the area. He also said a visitor to the area was bitten by a rattlesnake. Manos told the Associated Press that the situation had been “insane⁷,” even describing it as a “poppy apocalypse.”

I’m Bryan Lynn.

Words in This Story

freeway – n. a long, wide road, usually used by traffic travelling fast over long distances

insane – adj. shocking⁸ or outrageous⁹

apocalypse – n. a great disaster or event that causes much fear, loss, or destruction

1 bloom   

n.花，花期；vi.开花；容光焕发，显露出健康

参考例句：

• The park is a picture when flowers are in bloom.当鲜花盛开时，这个公园的景色美极了。
• The flowers in the garden are now in full bloom.花园里的花盛开。

2 blooms   

n.（常指供观赏的）花( bloom的名词复数 )；最佳时期；茂盛时期；健康有精神的面貌

参考例句：

• the exotic blooms of the orchid 奇异的兰花
• This plant blooms between May and June. 这种植物在5月至6月间开花。 来自辞典例句

3 primrose   

n.樱草，最佳部分，

参考例句：

• She is in the primrose of her life.她正处在她一生的最盛期。
• The primrose is set off by its nest of green.一窝绿叶衬托着一朵樱草花。

4 decided   

adj.决定了的，坚决的；明显的，明确的

参考例句：

• This gave them a decided advantage over their opponents.这使他们比对手具有明显的优势。
• There is a decided difference between British and Chinese way of greeting.英国人和中国人打招呼的方式有很明显的区别。

5 agencies   

n.代理( agency的名词复数 )；服务机构；（政府的）专门机构；代理（或经销）业务（或关系）

参考例句：

• There are many specialized agencies in the United Nations. 联合国有许多专门机构。 来自《简明英汉词典》
• The project is funded by the World Bank and other multilateral agencies. 这项计划由世界银行和其他多国机构资助。 来自《简明英汉词典》

6 mayor   

n.市长

参考例句：

• The new mayor said he would clean the city up.新市长说，他要整顿本市。
• The mayor hurried into his office,brushing off the reporters.市长赶快走进办公室，拒不接见记者。

7 insane   

adj.蠢极的，荒唐的，精神错乱的，疯狂的

参考例句：

• Insane people are sometimes dangerous.精神病人有时非常危险。
• The letter made her insane with jealousy.那封信使她妒忌得发疯。

8 shocking   

adj.令人气愤的；令人震惊的

参考例句：

• His attitude was shocking to her.他的态度令她感到震惊。
• Such behaviour is really shocking.这种行为真不像话。

9 outrageous   

adj.无理的，令人不能容忍的

参考例句：

• Her outrageous behaviour at the party offended everyone.她在聚会上的无礼行为触怒了每一个人。
• Charges for local telephone calls are particularly outrageous.本地电话资费贵得出奇。