The AirNow (https://fire.airnow.gov/) map tells it all. The West Coast is burning and being smoked out.
(https://i.imgur.com/LQQv4aY.jpg)
In my area of Washington (Tacoma, Pierce County), we've had a ton of small fires pop up over the last 48 hours, mainly brush although one larger fire at Wapato Hills Park (https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/fire-erupts-tacomas-wapato-hills-park-threatening-nearby-homes/7I4IYTG245GOXPNF4SGVUC74IU) less than a mile from where I have some family. At least one person was arrested for arson (https://www.khq.com/fires/man-arrested-for-trying-to-start-a-fire-in-puyallup-near-sr-167/article_63f8bd6c-f2f4-11ea-8f55-63f4ddd00b34.html) when they tried to light a fire in the central reservation of the Valley Freeway (WA-167) near Puyallup. No idea how many other fires that person might have started
The Sumner Grade fire (https://www.kiro7.com/news/local/sumner-grade-fire-slowing-after-destroying-four-homes/EL2QD4CQMJCYVKMJD7IZAQJAFQ/) is really odd, since it's a large scale fire on the west side of the Cascade Mountains in a very suburban area. Destroyed four homes at this point. Fortunately it appears to be fairly contained.
Southern Oregon is not looking good. That's all I'll say. Grateful to have decent air quality back for the time being.
Edit: photo I took this evening showing low-level smoke from a distance. Taken looking northwest from North Tacoma, WA:
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50326084482_4afb60b960_o.jpg)
Thoughts and prayers for those affected, of course...this is gonna go down as one of the worst years for wildfires, period.
And my wife wonders why I suggested Great Basin National Park for early October...
A marine push was supposed to bring sweet relief from the smoke...instead it's bringing all the smoke from California and Oregon into Washington.
https://twitter.com/waEMD/status/1304155481837953025
Just our luck.
This scene from the modern Bidwell's Bar Bridge:
https://www.facebook.com/72868503020/posts/10157450767318021/?extid=i56e7SNcYq4zKTsU&d=n
We've finally been getting rain the last couple of days. Temps have been in the 50s, down from the 90s.
Quote from: kphoger on September 11, 2020, 09:27:49 AM
We've finally been getting rain the last couple of days. Temps have been in the 50s, down from the 90s.
Have you all been seeing smoke or fires in Wichita? Or are you somewhere else?
Quote from: jakeroot on September 11, 2020, 12:33:14 PM
Quote from: kphoger on September 11, 2020, 09:27:49 AM
We've finally been getting rain the last couple of days. Temps have been in the 50s, down from the 90s.
Have you all been seeing smoke or fires in Wichita? Or are you somewhere else?
No, nothing like that here. Although I wouldn't necessarily see it with all the cloud cover lately.
Quote from: kphoger on September 11, 2020, 12:40:17 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on September 11, 2020, 12:33:14 PM
Quote from: kphoger on September 11, 2020, 09:27:49 AM
We've finally been getting rain the last couple of days. Temps have been in the 50s, down from the 90s.
Have you all been seeing smoke or fires in Wichita? Or are you somewhere else?
No, nothing like that here. Although I wouldn't necessarily see it with all the cloud cover lately.
You do know this is the "2020 wildfire season" thread, right? Just not sure the weather in Kansas is relevant to the discussion :-D
Quote from: jakeroot on September 11, 2020, 12:48:12 PM
Quote from: kphoger on September 11, 2020, 12:40:17 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on September 11, 2020, 12:33:14 PM
Quote from: kphoger on September 11, 2020, 09:27:49 AM
We've finally been getting rain the last couple of days. Temps have been in the 50s, down from the 90s.
Have you all been seeing smoke or fires in Wichita? Or are you somewhere else?
No, nothing like that here. Although I wouldn't necessarily see it with all the cloud cover lately.
You do know this is the "2020 wildfire season" thread, right? Just not sure the weather in Kansas is relevant to the discussion :-D
Crap. No. I thought it was the 'what's your weather like' thread. :banghead:
And we still have idiots starting wildfires due to stupid gender reveals (http://www.fox29.com/news/california-wildfire-started-because-of-pyrotechnics-at-gender-reveal-gathering-calfire), which doesn't help.
Yes Parts of the West Coast had the skies covered up in Smoke that you have no clue if it was daytime or nighttime by the pictures.
The view from Kerry Park yesterday:
(https://i.imgur.com/WKBRYUt.jpg)
(This was before the bulk of the smoke storm swept in)
Today would have been a clear day, but instead, there is a high-altitude plume of smoke stretching all the way out to the Ozarks.
(https://live.staticflickr.com/65535/50335328402_4b85c0ef1e.jpg)
Here is the shots of the dark skies around the Bay Area due to wildfire smoke very concentrated in the Bay Area and Sacramento Valley.
Had to cancel my 15 mile backpacking trip. Went to Costco instead yesterday; here's both sides of the SR-99 tunnel.
(https://i.imgur.com/nb8FvLQ.jpg)
(https://i.imgur.com/XFEXZUI.jpg)
Quote from: ozarkman417 on September 12, 2020, 06:07:01 PM
Today would have been a clear day, but instead, there is a high-altitude plume of smoke stretching all the way out to the Ozarks.
Don't like the fire, but didn't mind the cooler temps here
Quote from: US71 on September 13, 2020, 08:21:30 PM
Quote from: ozarkman417 on September 12, 2020, 06:07:01 PM
Today would have been a clear day, but instead, there is a high-altitude plume of smoke stretching all the way out to the Ozarks.
Don't like the fire, but didn't mind the cooler temps here
The temperature dropped 20-25 degrees from last week in Fresno. I have no plans for any hiking in the next two weeks so I'm not complaining.
I had jeans and a jacket on for opening day of football. Definitely never had that happen before.
I like summer weather, and the lighter clothes associated with it, since it's underappreciated around here. But wildfires are proof that it isn't perfect. Then again, heavy, pounding sun doesn't result in floods and weather related car accidents. No weather is truly perfect.
Quote from: Max Rockatansky on September 14, 2020, 12:08:12 AM
Quote from: US71 on September 13, 2020, 08:21:30 PM
Quote from: ozarkman417 on September 12, 2020, 06:07:01 PM
Today would have been a clear day, but instead, there is a high-altitude plume of smoke stretching all the way out to the Ozarks.
Don't like the fire, but didn't mind the cooler temps here
The temperature dropped 20-25 degrees from last week in Fresno. I have no plans for any hiking in the next two weeks so I'm not complaining.
The jetstream has blown the smoke over Arkansas and dropped temps 5-10 degrees . Don't like the fires, don't like the smoke, but the temp drop is welcome.
Yeah, it was strange to bust out my fall jacket a bit early. It is nice to be able to close the windows and not totally bake while avoiding the smoke.
The lighting here has been weird the past couple days, especially around sunrise and sunset, and I'm pretty sure it's smoke from the fires. It's like there's a haze making the sky more white/gray than the usual blue, and it feels only partly sunny even though you can tell the sun's shining.
Quote from: jakeroot on September 11, 2020, 12:33:14 PM
Quote from: kphoger on September 11, 2020, 09:27:49 AM
We've finally been getting rain the last couple of days. Temps have been in the 50s, down from the 90s.
Have you all been seeing smoke or fires in Wichita? Or are you somewhere else?
The air is smoky here today.
Quote from: kphoger on September 17, 2020, 02:12:37 PM
Quote from: jakeroot on September 11, 2020, 12:33:14 PM
Quote from: kphoger on September 11, 2020, 09:27:49 AM
We've finally been getting rain the last couple of days. Temps have been in the 50s, down from the 90s.
Have you all been seeing smoke or fires in Wichita? Or are you somewhere else?
The air is smoky here today.
Apparently it's well on its way to encircling the globe! I heard it made its way to Europe.
Still very smoky here. Air quality is steadily improving but still holding steady in "unhealthy". Better than "hazardous" a few days ago.
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/north-bay/fast-spreading-brush-fire-forces-evacuations-in-napa-county/2370538/ (https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/north-bay/fast-spreading-brush-fire-forces-evacuations-in-napa-county/2370538/)
Another wave of Air Quality Warnings has been announced for Northern California due to the Napa fires.
Quote from: bing101 on September 27, 2020, 09:48:40 AM
https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/north-bay/fast-spreading-brush-fire-forces-evacuations-in-napa-county/2370538/ (https://www.nbcbayarea.com/news/local/north-bay/fast-spreading-brush-fire-forces-evacuations-in-napa-county/2370538/)
Another wave of Air Quality Warnings has been announced for Northern California due to the Napa fires.
And yet the AQI in San Francisco is presently 43. It's only 84 at the moment in Fresno.
To that end the major fires in California are largely coming under control the last two weeks. That was undoubted helped by high elevation rain and far lower temperatures. In Sierra National Forest and Sequoia National Forest most of the notable locales/landmarks made it through the fires okay. I was concerned about Balch Park but it appears to have been saved by a recent proscribed burn. Cressman's Store in Pine Ridge was the most notable structure locally that was lost but the owner has already decided to rebuild. That really doesn't surprise me given Cressman's has gone through a ton of structures dating back to the logging era on the Tollhouse Road. All and all I think the Sierra Nevada Mountains came out pretty okay. Undoubtably the overgrowth brings cleared this year and in 2018 will be likely effective in mitigating near term future blazes.
https://www.redding.com/story/news/2020/09/30/zogg-fire-update-acres-containment-redding-shasta-evacuations-deaths-victims/3584067001/
Update there are now reports of the Zogg Fire in the Redding area and there are reports of 3 deaths as of this posting.
https://abc7.com/santa-clarita-fire-bouquet-canyon-today-live-angeles-national-forest/6631195/
And another fire reported in the Santa Clarita area.
Quote from: bing101 on September 30, 2020, 10:30:40 AM
https://www.redding.com/story/news/2020/09/30/zogg-fire-update-acres-containment-redding-shasta-evacuations-deaths-victims/3584067001/
Update there are now reports of the Zogg Fire in the Redding area and there are reports of 3 deaths as of this posting.
https://abc7.com/santa-clarita-fire-bouquet-canyon-today-live-angeles-national-forest/6631195/
And another fire reported in the Santa Clarita area.
So much for potentially trying to clinch CA 36 in less than two weeks. The Bouquet Reservoir is out in the middle of nowhere which makes me think that one won't big that big of a deal.
Here is more on the Glass Fire and the Zogg Fire.
https://www.khon2.com/local-news/kapalua-brush-fire-80-contained-550-acres-burned/
and now a Brush fire is reported in Hawaii.
https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/wildfire/cameron-peak-fire-updates-size-evacuations-weather/73-086990dc-b253-4363-87ae-23fc68461e37?ref=exit-recirc (https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/wildfire/cameron-peak-fire-updates-size-evacuations-weather/73-086990dc-b253-4363-87ae-23fc68461e37?ref=exit-recirc)
Colorado is reporting a wildfire in the Cameron Peak area.
Quote from: bing101 on October 17, 2020, 12:25:29 PM
https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/wildfire/cameron-peak-fire-updates-size-evacuations-weather/73-086990dc-b253-4363-87ae-23fc68461e37?ref=exit-recirc (https://www.9news.com/article/news/local/wildfire/cameron-peak-fire-updates-size-evacuations-weather/73-086990dc-b253-4363-87ae-23fc68461e37?ref=exit-recirc)
Colorado is reporting a wildfire in the Cameron Peak area.
its been burning since august.. and its not pretty. i am about 10 miles from one part of it, its like 200-something square miles now and threatening drake and glen haven, colo. i was evacuated once around labor day and it was the apocalpyse around here.
about 70 mi of sh-14 is closed through the area
Whether the worst wildfire season in CA and US histories was caused by global warming/climate change or state/federal land environmental reclamation policies, plus the COVID pandemic affected firefighting crews trying to avoid catching a virus while they try to avoid getting smoke inhalation and fire heat stroke, I can tell you one fire in Banning-Beaumont not far from where I live (Palm Springs-Coachella Valley) was caused by a ridiculous gender reveal involving pyrotechnics because the unborn boy is a BIG deal, and I recall my wife and I's baby shower in late 2011 had pink cake frosting (a girl, though I don't favor boys over girls or vice versa), not stupid dangerous damage to local wildlife and a death of a firefighter (BTW, my father is a retired Orange/Riverside county CDF firefighter in the 70s-80s).
we just had one (the 'east troublesome' fire) that chewed through like 110k acres in one day..
entire towns are evacuated.
https://ktla.com/news/local-news/wind-driven-brush-fire-sparks-in-santiago-canyon-area-residents-between-tustin-and-foothill-ranch-urged-to-be-vigilant/
Update there is a report of a fire in Orange County and a Fire threat in Solano County in Northern California.
https://fox40.com/news/local-news/fire-burns-near-highway-12-travis-afb/ (https://fox40.com/news/local-news/fire-burns-near-highway-12-travis-afb/)