My brother called from Spokane. They are about 100 miles

[leftyladyfrommo]

from one of the fires. He said there is so much smoke in the air that you can't see the sun. He said 100,000 acres are burning.

People don't realize just how dry Eastern Washington can be, There is always a real danger of fires. And this year is just awful.

[randr]

1. Currently winds from the NW

are making the air in Western Colorado horrible.

[leftyladyfrommo]

2. Are there fires in Colorado, too?

My brother said that there are fires in Oregon.

It's a terrible mess.

[randr]

5. None that I have heard of

Here is a helpful resource:
http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/googleearth.php

[OldHippieChick]

10. We've had a few small fires

But nothing big and recently much rain has kept the danger down. For now ...

[bluedigger]

3. It's hazy here in Cortez this morning.

Hard to believe it's smoke blowing in all the way from Washington.

[likesmountains 52]

6. The Herald says it's from Utah and the PNW fires. Hazy in Dgo too.

http://www.durangoherald.com/article/20140717/NEWS01/140719632/0/SEARCH/Utah-fires-bring-haze-to-Western-Slope-skies

Hope link works, posting from work.

[bluedigger]

7. I just had that story open in the Journal.

Of course being a smaller town they cut it down a little...

http://www.cortezjournal.com/article/20140717/NEWS01/140719875/-1/News01/Smoke-from-wildfires-drifting-into-Colorado-

[likesmountains 52]

11. Funny...Dolores paper was probably 1 sentence!

[bluedigger]

15. Well, they have to pay by the pixel, don't ya know.

[brewens]

4. 100 miles south of Spokane here and we have heavy smoke. No clouds yesterday

and I'd say it was at least 15 degrees cooler than it normally would have been.

[leftyladyfrommo]

18. Monday: Any better today?

I just saw something that said over 300 square miles are burning - keeps going up. But the weather is changing and that should help.

[brewens]

20. Winds blew the smoke out of here by Sunday morning and it's pretty much normal now.

Looks to be shaping up to partially cloudy today but I imagine still hot.

[leftyladyfrommo]

22. The paper here said they were starting to get a handle on things now.

I hope so.

[yewberry]

8. The Carlton Complex fire alone has taken almost 170,000 acres as of yesterday.

Oregon & Washington are hurting. NWCC has NW information and links to other state and interagency resources.

http://www.nwccweb.us/index.aspx

My sister's house burned yesterday in the Methow Valley.

[uppityperson]

16. I've a nephew out fighting it and to your sister

[yewberry]

17. Thank you

and thanks to your nephew, also.

[leftyladyfrommo]

19. Oh, how awful.

That was one place my brother mentioned. He said it was a really beautiful valley.

[cilla4progress]

25. So sorry about your sister's home!

Where was it?

[cilla4progress]

9. This is my home.

We lost our home in wildfires in 1994 - 20 years ago this month. We are in the Entiat Valley, about 40 miles as the crow flies from the Methow, where the first of this complex of fires started right after the July 4th holiday. We were supposed to be at the fabulous annual Winthrop Rhythm and Blues Festival this weekend - Christmas present from husband! So bummed to miss it. Even though roads are now open, couldn't go with a clear conscience, since those areas are without power and getting low on fuel and food. Town authorities are asking people to stay away.

I'm so sorry about your sister's home! I want to volunteer with the Red Cross to help people heal from these events, given my personal experience.

It's so beautiful here. We live on property developed 100 years ago, so not new expansion out into the "wild-urban" interface. We do border National Forest land. I believe it's the change in the climate - the accelerating heat and dryness (we just tied or exceeded the longest stretch of + 100 degree days here - 7). I believe even the wind patterns are related to it.

The new normal.

[leftyladyfrommo]

21. Do you know where NW Blvd is in Spokane?

Our house was sitting on the ridge over the river close to the Riverside State Park there. There have been several times when fires got started out there in the valley that runs all along the Spokane river. It just goes like crazy when it gets going down there in the dry brush and the evergreen trees.

So scary. They have had fires get within a few miles of their house down around Nine Mile and Five Mile - just not too far from the VA hospital.

[cilla4progress]

23. I do!

I have gotten lost in Spokane in that area several times!

[HereSince1628]

12. A couple of years ago, as I was driving and I noticed haze and the smell of smoke...

I wondered whose barn might be on fire...

It turned out to be from a large wildfire 400 MILES AWAY in the MN Boundary Waters area.

Blame unique atmospherics etc, for my experience, but,

I can only imagine what being 4 times closer to 100K acres of burning woodlands is like.

[Blue_In_AK]

13. I can sympathize.

We had that going on here a couple months ago with the Funny River fire. I hope they get rain down there. That's what finally killed our fire.

[daleo]

14. The air was bad in Alberta this week too

In that case it was smoke from forest fires in the Northwest Territories, far above 60 degrees latitude. A hypothesis is that global warming is creating the conditions for these far north forests to dry out and burn much more readily than in the past.

[cilla4progress]

24. Ya think?

Global warming a clear cause...