While I have been busy worrying about family in Houston, the western wildfires have taken a huge leap into horrible. Montana and Idaho have been blazing for weeks, ash is falling in Seattle, and most heart-breaking new development is the fire in the Columbia gorge. I'm nearly in tears just sitting here. Such happy memories of hiking to all the falls with my kids.
Wow, if you zoom that map out to the national level, you get a clear picture of what’s burning. And my local news covered - the fires near LA. And no others.
I thought it was bad when they cancelled Cycle Oregon last week. At the time, the entire route seemed to be one big ring of fire.
And now the Columbia gorge is on fire. Multnomah Falls Lodge has been saved but the incredible scenery behind the lodge- the falls- will look so different for decades. The old Columbia River Highway has a restored tunnel with wooden trusses- looks like the wood structure burned.
Several communities had to evacuate. Ash is still raining down like snow in Portland.
The fire burned through 12 miles in 9 hours overnight. Today it’s reached the very edge of Portland’s watershed.
Because some kid threw a smoke bomb (firework) off a cliff on a trail.
We vacationed in Seattle (saw friends and family) before and after our Alaskan cruise around the beginning of August. Haze and an orangey moon even back then for the evening stop in Victoria, BC. Chose to not do a day of outdoor activities in Seattle because of the poor air quality. We’re gearing up for the Florida Irma landfall early next week.
A fire alarm went off at around 5 am on the first floor in our house!!! Guess what? When it “rains” ash outside, to shut off your alarm, all you have to do is close the window (which was left open). As soon as I did it, the alarm stopped.
We realized that we need to have a better plan to deal with the cats in case of a real fire - they hid from the alarm.
The Seattle area ash fall is from the Norse Peak fire just east of Mt. Rainier. The NE section of the National Park is closed, as is the road over to Yakima. It was eerily dark here yesterday. Kids in the eastern part of the state are wearing masks to get to classes, and ones with asthma or other breathing issues are staying indoors and skipping classes. It’s tough for them when it is 95 degrees and no air conditioning.
A friend just got back from Missoula and said it is much worse. His house out there SE of the city is now under mandatory evacuation. Word is there is not much they can do until the winter rains start putting them out.
Late summer/early fall is my favorite season to climb in the mountains but we’re not going this year. The air is tough to take.
Those were our stomping grounds. Impossible to count how many hikes we have taken
in the Gorge. There is an amazing little known difficult hike behind Multnomah Falls that
is breathtaking. I am sure it is gone.
Driving through the Gorge has been one of the most spiritual experiences of my life for close
to four decades.
It is hard to describe the sheer grander and beauty.
The ash has been awful. It is ugly and hot and dirty outdoors. Our D’s wedding is this Saturday
and the ceremony is outside. Still given this fire, Irma, Harvey and DACA is seems insignificant.
When I think about driving the Gorge and seeing the devastation I find it difficult to breathe.
I am east of Portland. The skies are ominous here. Watching the news is just… incredible.
One heartening thing to come from all of this is seeing how many people are willing to help. I have friends who are very involved in horse rescue. They (and many others) have been working non-stop to evacuate livestock out of the evacuation areas. So many people are offering their barns, pastures, and feed to house these animals. I am on the list to take up to 3 horses, if needed. It is comforting to see that the community is there, ready to help.
Mommertons, wow and kudos. I sure hope those fhree horses would not need to seek shelter, but if they do, it sounds like they will be in good hands.
Kid signed up to do a mini triathlon this weekend. Sigh. Now I have one more thing to worry: will she get a really bad case of EIB because of the smoke-filled air?! She is determined to compete.
My nephew and his mother are ready to leave. They’ve packed up an RV and all the animals. They run a business out of their home (Washington side) in the gorge.
This is all surreal! We were just at Glacier National Park in July, at one of the lodges at risk of burning down! They are doing what they can to protect it. It’s heavily wooded all around, so it must be so tough for the fire fighters and scary for everyone there! Hope the weather cooperates and winds stay calm with some rain to help put out the fires.
