Wildfire(s) Out West

Zod

brianlux said:

Zod said:

We're doing fairly well for air quality here on Vancouver Island.  The winds seem more favourable this year (blowing the smoke inland, instead of south to north, or east to west).   We had a little smoke the past few days, but nothing like last year.   Smokes gone again, so I'm feeling lucky.

Downside is because we're one of the few places without much smoke, it's been a tourist hotbed to come over here :(

I can believe it. I used to live across the water in the Sequim/ Port Angeles area.  Victoria is such a marvelous place to visit.  And it's the home of Murchies Tea- the best!

Haha, we're jonesing for a US road trip over to Port Angeles.. lol.   I always like exploring the other side.  Went up hurricane ridge before the 2018 Seattle PJ shows, and that was pretty amazing.   Especially on the drive up the mountain as there's a lookout where you get an amazing view of Victoria (which I'd never seen from the US side).

Here's hoping the marine border opens in the not too distant future so the coho goes back into operation.

brianlux

Zod said:

brianlux said:

Zod said:

We're doing fairly well for air quality here on Vancouver Island.  The winds seem more favourable this year (blowing the smoke inland, instead of south to north, or east to west).   We had a little smoke the past few days, but nothing like last year.   Smokes gone again, so I'm feeling lucky.

Downside is because we're one of the few places without much smoke, it's been a tourist hotbed to come over here :(

I can believe it. I used to live across the water in the Sequim/ Port Angeles area.  Victoria is such a marvelous place to visit.  And it's the home of Murchies Tea- the best!

Haha, we're jonesing for a US road trip over to Port Angeles.. lol.   I always like exploring the other side.  Went up hurricane ridge before the 2018 Seattle PJ shows, and that was pretty amazing.   Especially on the drive up the mountain as there's a lookout where you get an amazing view of Victoria (which I'd never seen from the US side).

Here's hoping the marine border opens in the not too distant future so the coho goes back into operation.

Wow, no Coho running!  I hadn't even thought of that!  Next time you get over that way, if you get a chance, check out Sunny Farms right on the highway at the west end of Sequim.  It's an amazing food store that started out as a little produce stand many years ago.  They have the best produce, a great deli, all kinds of good eats!  And I say that not as a bias based on my brother running the farming operation for them, but from the experience of living and shopping there.  There even a (slightly accurate) jigsaw puzzle of the place!

Zod

brianlux said:

Zod said:

brianlux said:

Zod said:

We're doing fairly well for air quality here on Vancouver Island.  The winds seem more favourable this year (blowing the smoke inland, instead of south to north, or east to west).   We had a little smoke the past few days, but nothing like last year.   Smokes gone again, so I'm feeling lucky.

Downside is because we're one of the few places without much smoke, it's been a tourist hotbed to come over here :(

I can believe it. I used to live across the water in the Sequim/ Port Angeles area.  Victoria is such a marvelous place to visit.  And it's the home of Murchies Tea- the best!

Haha, we're jonesing for a US road trip over to Port Angeles.. lol.   I always like exploring the other side.  Went up hurricane ridge before the 2018 Seattle PJ shows, and that was pretty amazing.   Especially on the drive up the mountain as there's a lookout where you get an amazing view of Victoria (which I'd never seen from the US side).

Here's hoping the marine border opens in the not too distant future so the coho goes back into operation.

Wow, no Coho running!  I hadn't even thought of that!  Next time you get over that way, if you get a chance, check out Sunny Farms right on the highway at the west end of Sequim.  It's an amazing food store that started out as a little produce stand many years ago.  They have the best produce, a great deli, all kinds of good eats!  And I say that not as a bias based on my brother running the farming operation for them, but from the experience of living and shopping there.  There even a (slightly accurate) jigsaw puzzle of the place!

I'll have to check that out next time I'm out that way.. hopefully sooner rather than later.

brianlux

Zod said:

brianlux said:

Zod said:

brianlux said:

Zod said:

We're doing fairly well for air quality here on Vancouver Island.  The winds seem more favourable this year (blowing the smoke inland, instead of south to north, or east to west).   We had a little smoke the past few days, but nothing like last year.   Smokes gone again, so I'm feeling lucky.

Downside is because we're one of the few places without much smoke, it's been a tourist hotbed to come over here :(

I can believe it. I used to live across the water in the Sequim/ Port Angeles area.  Victoria is such a marvelous place to visit.  And it's the home of Murchies Tea- the best!

Haha, we're jonesing for a US road trip over to Port Angeles.. lol.   I always like exploring the other side.  Went up hurricane ridge before the 2018 Seattle PJ shows, and that was pretty amazing.   Especially on the drive up the mountain as there's a lookout where you get an amazing view of Victoria (which I'd never seen from the US side).

Here's hoping the marine border opens in the not too distant future so the coho goes back into operation.

Wow, no Coho running!  I hadn't even thought of that!  Next time you get over that way, if you get a chance, check out Sunny Farms right on the highway at the west end of Sequim.  It's an amazing food store that started out as a little produce stand many years ago.  They have the best produce, a great deli, all kinds of good eats!  And I say that not as a bias based on my brother running the farming operation for them, but from the experience of living and shopping there.  There even a (slightly accurate) jigsaw puzzle of the place!

I'll have to check that out next time I'm out that way.. hopefully sooner rather than later.

I hope you're able to, Zod. 

brianlux

The latest fire in these part, the Caldor Fire, about 20 miles south of us, started out Saturday night as something relatively concerning but then went haywire and is now up to 2261 acres.  The fire is still a safe distance from us but the air here was unbreathable and we had the day off, so we headed for the coast to breath easier for a while.  Here I am on the north side of the Golden Gate Bridge, breathing easier but looking like hell from stress and sleep deprivation.  Life goes on.

brianlux

An intense day.  Big water bomber planes and big air moving water helicopters flying over our house all day long.  Traffic out on all the main roads around here with miles of cars, many hauling horse and animal trailers, all headed downhill toward safety.  Still zero percent containment, winds kicking this thing up bigger and bigger.  We're good here for now but everyone is on pins and needles. 

The latest from Inciweb:

"The Fire Is Predicted To Impact Sly Park Lake And Interstate Travel Including Important Evacuation Routes. There Is A Continued Threat To Structures (combination Of Residences And Outbuildings) In The Communities Of Omo Ranch And Grizzly Flats As Well As Private Businesses, Commercial Timberlands, Vineyards And Other Agricultural Lands. This Is A Rapidly Changing Incident With Dynamic Fire Behavior.

Red Flag warning in effect until 0800 8/18. Hot and dry weather will continue over the fire early this week. Winds are expected to

continue increase throughout the week. Forecast winds over the next 3 days have been associated with aggressive fire growth and runs of 3+ miles are probable in the absence of an inversion."

Fire season is hell.

Spunkie

Great pic, B, thank you. Glad you found fresh air. It's been the pits here, too. Not good for the mental health to see smoky skies for months on end. 

brianlux

tish said:

Great pic, B, thank you. Glad you found fresh air. It's been the pits here, too. Not good for the mental health to see smoky skies for months on end. 

Thanks, Tish

Yeah, lots of smoky air.  Only good when you're at a Who concert!

brianlux

The Caldor fire, burning about 16 miles up the road from us, looked like this today.

Gonna be a long week.

Edit 12:34 AM, Wednesday.  Inciweb finally updated this fire 5 minutes ago  It was around 4,000 acres Tuesday morning and has grown to 22,919 with zero containment and spreading fast.  Surely close to 23,000 acres as I write this.  This monster is out of control.

Meanwhile, global warming?  What global warming?

And, say, we've got nothing better to do.  Let's spend millions of dollars and try to recall a governor who will probably be gone in a year anyway.  Californians are crazy?  What you talkin' about?

Asterisk on the Street

brianlux said:

The Caldor fire, burning about 16 miles up the road from us, looked like this today.

Gonna be a long week.

Edit 12:34 AM, Wednesday.  Inciweb finally updated this fire 5 minutes ago  It was around 4,000 acres Tuesday morning and has grown to 22,919 with zero containment and spreading fast.  Surely close to 23,000 acres as I write this.  This monster is out of control.

Meanwhile, global warming?  What global warming?

And, say, we've got nothing better to do.  Let's spend millions of dollars and try to recall a governor who will probably be gone in a year anyway.  Californians are crazy?  What you talkin' about?

Stay safe, Brian! Thoughts are with you and your family.

brianlux

Asterisk on the Street said:

brianlux said:

The Caldor fire, burning about 16 miles up the road from us, looked like this today.

Gonna be a long week.

Edit 12:34 AM, Wednesday.  Inciweb finally updated this fire 5 minutes ago  It was around 4,000 acres Tuesday morning and has grown to 22,919 with zero containment and spreading fast.  Surely close to 23,000 acres as I write this.  This monster is out of control.

Meanwhile, global warming?  What global warming?

And, say, we've got nothing better to do.  Let's spend millions of dollars and try to recall a governor who will probably be gone in a year anyway.  Californians are crazy?  What you talkin' about?

Stay safe, Brian! Thoughts are with you and your family.

Thank you!

The Caldor fire is still at 0% containment, more than doubled overnight to 53,772 acres.
All of El Dorado National Forest has been closed.
I was watching the news this morning and a Sacramento TV reporter was asked this woman who was an evacuee the most ridiculous questions you can imagine. The last question he asked her was the most pathetic. Regarding having to leave most of her belongings behind and evacuate to a parking lot in a church in Placerville he asked, "Do you ever want to do this again?" Can you believe that?

Asterisk on the Street

brianlux said:

Asterisk on the Street said:

brianlux said:

The Caldor fire, burning about 16 miles up the road from us, looked like this today.

Gonna be a long week.

Edit 12:34 AM, Wednesday.  Inciweb finally updated this fire 5 minutes ago  It was around 4,000 acres Tuesday morning and has grown to 22,919 with zero containment and spreading fast.  Surely close to 23,000 acres as I write this.  This monster is out of control.

Meanwhile, global warming?  What global warming?

And, say, we've got nothing better to do.  Let's spend millions of dollars and try to recall a governor who will probably be gone in a year anyway.  Californians are crazy?  What you talkin' about?

Stay safe, Brian! Thoughts are with you and your family.

Thank you!

The Caldor fire is still at 0% containment, more than doubled overnight to 53,772 acres.
All of El Dorado National Forest has been closed.
I was watching the news this morning and a Sacramento TV reporter was asked this woman who was an evacuee the most ridiculous questions you can imagine. The last question he asked her was the most pathetic. Regarding having to leave most of her belongings behind and evacuate to a parking lot in a church in Placerville he asked, "Do you ever want to do this again?" Can you believe that?

It irritates the hell out of me when reporters attempt to interview people on one of the worst days of their lives and ask inane questions. It is stupid.

Brian, I hope you have your go bag checklist ready in case you need to get out quickly. When my son and his then girlfriend/now wife had to evacuate during the Thomas Fire in 2017, they had less than 30 minutes to pack up as much as they could and go.

brianlux

Asterisk on the Street said:

brianlux said:

Asterisk on the Street said:

brianlux said:

The Caldor fire, burning about 16 miles up the road from us, looked like this today.

Gonna be a long week.

Edit 12:34 AM, Wednesday.  Inciweb finally updated this fire 5 minutes ago  It was around 4,000 acres Tuesday morning and has grown to 22,919 with zero containment and spreading fast.  Surely close to 23,000 acres as I write this.  This monster is out of control.

Meanwhile, global warming?  What global warming?

And, say, we've got nothing better to do.  Let's spend millions of dollars and try to recall a governor who will probably be gone in a year anyway.  Californians are crazy?  What you talkin' about?

Stay safe, Brian! Thoughts are with you and your family.

Thank you!

The Caldor fire is still at 0% containment, more than doubled overnight to 53,772 acres.
All of El Dorado National Forest has been closed.
I was watching the news this morning and a Sacramento TV reporter was asked this woman who was an evacuee the most ridiculous questions you can imagine. The last question he asked her was the most pathetic. Regarding having to leave most of her belongings behind and evacuate to a parking lot in a church in Placerville he asked, "Do you ever want to do this again?" Can you believe that?

It irritates the hell out of me when reporters attempt to interview people on one of the worst days of their lives and ask inane questions. It is stupid.

Brian, I hope you have your go bag checklist ready in case you need to get out quickly. When my son and his then girlfriend/now wife had to evacuate during the Thomas Fire in 2017, they had less than 30 minutes to pack up as much as they could and go.

Normally, I try to find news I can read.  TV news is so awful!  This evening, we watched another Sacramento news station and the "meteorologist"  was talking about how the winds are affecting the fire.  A weather visual came up and she said, "You can see here these winds that are coming out of the southwest..." The winds she was pointing at were northwest winds... northwest winds come from the northwest and blow toward the southeast.  Ayeeeeeeeeee.

And then later, on NPR news, there was a story about the terrible concentrations of smoke over Reno, NV.  At the end of that story, they talked about how firefighters must contend with breathing smoky air for several years over the span of their careers (which really sucks and is yet another reason to thank and support our fire fighters).  A "health expert" was quoted as saying that this is a bad situation and that "we need to do research on this."  Wait, what?  Spend GOD knows how much time and money studying something that is so obviously unhealthy instead of utilizing those funds for something practical?  Like maybe start a fund for unpaid volunteer fire fighter or underpaid fighters fighters. 

I started pulling my hair out!

OK, sorry, enough ranting!

Thanks for good thoughts, Asterisk.  Yes, the go-bag is in the car and will be there until the rains come.  We also have a list on the fridge of things to grab, in order of importance.  Annie cat at the top of the list! I hope we won't need it.  We're safe so far! 

JeBurkhardt

Stay safe! My daughter was out there at school in St Helena during the 2018 fires and it took everything I had not to drive from Illinois to grab her and bring her home. It was very scary having her out there and watching the reports hourly seeing if the fires were getting closer to her. Fortunately the fires didn't get close enough to the campus to warrant an evacuation.

brianlux

I remember that St Helena.  That was a bad fire in beautiful wine country.  I can imagine you stress over it with your daughter out there!

Still no containment on the Caldor fire in our area.   Growth was moderate over night but as the inversion lifts, they are expecting faster growth.  Kyburz, a small town along the American River, is in danger.  I can't imagine Kyburz burning, but it's possible.  We have already lost a large portion of our El Dorado National forest with no idea when and where it will end. 

Raking my mind for something positive to say.

Thank goodness for music. 

Meltdown99

brianlux said:

I remember that St Helena.  That was a bad fire in beautiful wine country.  I can imagine you stress over it with your daughter out there!

Still no containment on the Caldor fire in our area.   Growth was moderate over night but as the inversion lifts, they are expecting faster growth.  Kyburz, a small town along the American River, is in danger.  I can't imagine Kyburz burning, but it's possible.  We have already lost a large portion of our El Dorado National forest with no idea when and where it will end. 

Raking my mind for something positive to say.

Thank goodness for music. 

Caldor Fire forces thousands more to evacuate (msn.com)

Getting much worse...

brianlux

Meltdown99 said:

brianlux said:

I remember that St Helena.  That was a bad fire in beautiful wine country.  I can imagine you stress over it with your daughter out there!

Still no containment on the Caldor fire in our area.   Growth was moderate over night but as the inversion lifts, they are expecting faster growth.  Kyburz, a small town along the American River, is in danger.  I can't imagine Kyburz burning, but it's possible.  We have already lost a large portion of our El Dorado National forest with no idea when and where it will end. 

Raking my mind for something positive to say.

Thank goodness for music. 

Caldor Fire forces thousands more to evacuate (msn.com)

Getting much worse...

It's beyond depressing.  Zero percent containment and tens of thousands of people evacuating.  The evacuation centers, church parking lots, Walmart parking lot, all are full to mostly full.  Terrible air quality giving us itchy throats even while indoors.  And the fire is resuming rapid growth that's ramping up to the point where they can't even map this thing. 

F bomb.

Spunkie

I have a sore throat too. And not the good kind

brianlux

tish said:

I have a sore throat too. And not the good kind

There is a good kind? 

Spunkie

(see glowgirls make you laugh post to clarify)