Fires in the west

[Hunter1212]

who else is nervous about fires this year? There have already been several in Northeast Oregon and we are still a month out from when we usually start getting fires...

 

[cmahoney]

It’s been raining ash at my house for the last 4 days. I turned a tag in last year because of fire and access. I think this is the new norm for a few years.


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[Elkdreamer]

It is going to get worse before it gets better. We need a rain storm. I hope bow season does not get delayed. Sure seems like it could. Umatilla Forest is already closed. It would not surprise me if others follow. Ugh

 

[Flatgo]

Montana is half stage 1 fire restrictions half stage 2 fire restrictions. I would almost bet if we don’t get rain national forest and state land will be shutdown the first few weeks of archery season. Hope I am wrong though.

 

[Elkhntr08]

Carson City has been “smoked in” the past couple days.

 

[CoStick]

It is the new normal.

 

[Salmonchaser]

I’m up in Alaska, better half was up for awhile but headed home to get ready. We live in Union County, have never seen it so dry. Horse trailer is loaded with stuff, hooked to the Dodge horses will be moved down to a friends place with irrigated pasture.
We/she opened our back gate about a week ago and invited about 20 of the neighbors cows and calves in. Pretty much fireproofed the pasture. The smoke is so thick you can’t see the sun. Yep it’s spooky, lightning forecast for tonight.

 

[Batch]

yeah, our national forest just got shut down to all use . need some rain pretty bad but none in the forecast

 

[Legend]

Feels like the end of the world is coming in Montana. Never seen it so dry. We have rivers that are going dry and i bet most will be closed to fishing. So tired of the smoke and we have at least 6 weeks to go.

Why live in Montana if you loose 2 months of summer?

 

[Laramie]

Happened last year to a good portion of Wyoming. I turned a tag on as well. Was a rough year with Covid on top. Hope the rains come soon.

 

[manitou1]

We have fires going in Wyoming right now. The air is just a haze. Super dry and hot. My wife and I just hiked back from trout fishing the mountains with friends this eve. It was still 84 degrees at 9:30 tonight. We are usually wearing jackets or sweatshirts by sundown here. Darned hot and dry. I fear what late July and August will bring.

 

[ODB]

I’m tired of it and I’m not interested in using vacation time to go someplace cleaner/cooler when I need to save it for the fall/winter. So I’ll just sit here and bitch

 

[Hunt_Jefferson]

Some great trout fishing rivers along with most of X8 is burning in CA right now (Tamarack Fire)

 

[Customweld]

Hot and dry seems to be the theme. So far, Southern Idaho has avoided fires but it's only a matter of time. We are just now starting "traditional" fire season.

 

[downthepipe]

While sitting in my camp chair at a local mountain lake, a team of helicopters were taking turns dropping their buckets and taking trips to a little lightning start about 10 miles away. I sat there thinking - Bezos, Branson, and Musk are going to outer space and here we are fighting fires with a bucket of water. And humans digging fire lines. Wow how much do we need some modern breakthroughs in fire fighting capabilities!

 

[Customweld]

While sitting in my camp chair at a local mountain lake, a team of helicopters were taking turns dropping their buckets and taking trips to a little lightning start about 10 miles away. I sat there thinking - Bezos, Branson, and Musk are going to outer space and here we are fighting fires with a bucket of water. And humans digging fire lines. Wow how much do we need some modern breakthroughs in fire fighting capabilities!

When I worked in the woods, every logging crew was prepared to fight fires. If a lightning storm came through, it was all hands on deck and all fires out by noon. I'm not saying that was the right thing to do, but it worked.

 

[Voyageur]

Just got back from a week spent backpacking in the Frank Church Wilderness/Bighorn Crags area. Smoke and the smell of smoke filled the air round the clock. The pictures we took all look out of focus due to the smokey haze. Our last day plan was to hike out and spend the night at Crags Campground before starting the long drive home the next morning. While breaking camp that last morning for the hike out we knew something was up as there were helicopters and planes circling the area. On our hike out to the trailhead we met two rangers hiking in to tell people to evacuate the area. There were still 11 people left in the area behind us. Didn't affect our plans much other than we couldn't stay at the campground that night and had to drive out to Challis. Our planned route was to Salmon, but road closures dictated otherwise. Back home, 1000 miles east of the fires, the air is still hazy every day.
I've been tracking the fire online, the Mud Lick Fire, and it has grown to 16000 acres with a projected containment date of August 31.

 

[StuckoYota99]

Most of the Methow Valley in Eastern Washington is on fire.
It's only a matter of time until there is a fire on the west side and it's going to be a mess due to all the roads that are decommissioned and washed out...

 

[JRMiller]

Some great trout fishing rivers along with most of X8 is burning in CA right now (Tamarack Fire)

I'm moving out of CA in about 3 weeks. The annual fire storms I will not miss.
Looking out my window right now and i'm certain if you just look at the brush the wrong way it will burst into flames!

 

[SteepNDeep*]

I spent some time in western Montana last week and I heard all hotels were booked up from people evacuating Washington and California.