Smoke and Fires Again

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We had a great reprieve from smoke and the fires for a few weeks. It is still extremely dry however and then the wind picked up. Fires burst back to life and many new fires started. We had two small ones within a few miles of our home and my in-law's had their third large fire within 5 or 10 miles. They have been near an evacuation zone 3 times this summer.

Here is the fire that is near them now:

https://www.adn.com/alaska-news/weather/2019/08/19/as-southcentral-alaska-winds-ease-crews-battling-susitna-valley-wildfire-hope-to-gain-control/

If you scroll down you can see the towering smoke plumes.

We keep monitoring the fire to make sure they don't have to evacuate.

My Mom was supposed to come up to meet us and could not due to the highway to the south being closed for the huge fire down there which is now over 100,000 acres. The one to the north is only about 3,000 acres. Both fires are closing the highways to the north and south. We are far away from both of these (and have the ocean between us as we stick out in a peninsula) so we are fine but there is heavy smoke drifting in. The air quality here reached "hazardous" today. I am so glad our home is 15 miles away and the air is a bit better than here in town where we work.

Hopefully the wind shifts again...I am sick of having a permanent headache and burning eyes from the smoke.

We never have smoke in a normal August since we usually have rain. We usually have enough rain throughout the summer that we need to mow the lawn every week and it gets almost too tall in that week. This year we have not mowed since June!

Jessica

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Recent Comments

56

That looks horrible I do hope the wind shifts. Pray for rain. Stay safe, Jessica.

Thank you Mickey.

Thanks for keeping us posted. Sending you good thoughts!

Thank you very much!

I am from Northern Ontario and can normally beat everyone's weather story, but not this year. Stay strong wishing you, your family, and your friends lots of rain!

Thanks. Rain would be great.

Jessica, where is the dislike button. Aw. Yes, I know what the wild fires are like. We have them here too in Oregon. Been through that for three years, this year more in Washington state east area and southern Oregon. Hopefully soon it will be contained.

Thanks Brenda. We aren't in any danger here. We are just so sick of smoke!!

I read the link you posted above. Yes, it depends on the wind’s direction in where it blows the smoke. The Eagle Creek fires two years ago I think, was very close to us and it rained ashes everywhere. It was caused by a young teen throwing a fire cracker in the Gorge area, where Multnomah County Falls is located. That was a very bad fire. Been through a lot of canyon fires in Los Angeles, every summer went through that when we stayed at our grandparents home. I am glad to know that the fires not closeby. Alaska is beautiful. The news photos in the link you mentioned reminds me of the fires in Northern California that destroyed the whole town. Many from there had to move up here to Oregon. What we did was putting alot of Vick's under our noses so that we didn't smell the fires coming through the ac and the thin windows. Lots of wet clothes over our faces to prevent our eyes get watery from the smoke.

The smoke here is blowing up from a much, much larger fire to the south that has been burning all summer.

Thank goodness we have 3 air filters in our apartment! That really makes it fine. The problem is coming in here to work.

In the car with the air on recirculate it is ok.

Yes, I know what you mean about those pictures looking like northern CA. The canyon fires always looked scary too.

I hope everyone is safe Jessica. Our fire season is about to begin. They're never pleasant. Jim

Thanks Jim. Yes, we are all fine.

OMG....

The season are very weird this year alright. Were experiencing a way above average warmer winter that I ever remember.
I a little cold and windy here with just a touch of the usual snow fall. I live right by a mountain that hasn't seen nearly a quarter of the snow fall .My region has had 3 out of the blue Torado's lol.
And the wind is bad enough right now to expect another which is way out of our ordinary.

Hope some rain comes your way soon!

Stay safe Rob

Wow! There was a small twister here too this summer! So weird!!

Oh that is just horrible! I am so sorry!

Thank you.

Yikes, that's crazy. Here in AZ, it's been a pretty light fire season, at least from a major fire standpoint. We had one big fire early in the summer and that has been about all. That has to be scary in an evacuation zone. I hope everything changes for better soon.

Well that is good for AZ.

We have had hundreds of fires. There have been 5 that have affected our immediate family so far! It is crazy. They pop up everywhere. It is the driest summer ever here, the hottest day, hottest month (May and July I believe), just about every record has been broken. First official 90 degree day in Anchorage (it gets hotter in the interior but this is major for the coast), most days over 70 degrees, most days over 75 degrees etc. etc.

We started our warm season here in March (outside in T-shirts) and it has just been going ever since.

Wow, that is hot for Anchorage, setting all kinds of records. Hopefully, things will take a turn for the better and soon.

Yes. I am afraid this is the new normal though. This will become more common.

Oh gosh.. That looks Terrible. I'll pray for some rain to come to Alaska. I hope the winds shift soon. It's not very healthy to have so much smoke. Do you have an air purifier in your home?

Yes...we have 3! Thank you!

I pray all would be well just the same. Do take extra careful though.

Thank you!

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