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Cirashala
Valinor
Aug 21 2015, 3:54am
Post #1 of 18
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Northwestern North America is on fire
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No, I'm not being dramatic- I'm dead serious. We've had barely a few minutes of sparse rain since the end of May, have broken heat records by several fahrenheit degrees that have been held since the end of the 19th century, it's been windy and very low humidity and the entire region is in a severe drought.
I live in Idaho state, US, thankfully with no major fires within a twenty mile radius of my town. But the smoke in the air has been absolutely terrible. We've had days where I swore it was complete cloud cover, and turns out it was nothing but smoke. And here's why:
In the US states of Washington and Oregon, there are about 24 major (defined as 100 acres or more) fires, some totaling over 100,000 acres in size. In the US state of California, there are at least a dozen more. In Idaho, there are 12 major fires going. Canada has too many to count, and Montana has 101 major fires burning as I type this.
The problem is so bad that most of the North American continent is covered in smoke (at least, the western half of it) with some areas nearer to the fires having so much smoke that it's as dark as night even in daytime. Light ash has fallen in my friends' yards in the town 12 miles east of where I live because of the smoke in the air alone.
This year, over 7 million acres have burned, and the entire western half of the US and Canada are in severe drought and everything is bone dry. Most of the fires were caused by lightning storms, and the remaining ones were human error.
If you pray, I ask that you pray for rain and for the firefighters who are battling these blazes. I'm very thankful for Australia and New Zealand firefighters stepping up to aid us because we don't have enough firemen and firewomen to keep them contained. And please pray/send nice thoughts toward all those who have been displaced (animal and human alike- many domesticated animals, small and farm, separated from their owners as well), to the families of firefighters that have died combating the fires and the civilians who have also perished, to those who are sensitive to the smoke (allergies, respiratory issues, etc), and above all that we get some rain to help battle them.
The massive heat wave in June depleted much of our snowpack, which is how most of our lakes and rivers are fed, and with planes and helicopters taking water out to fight the fires, they are even lower than usual.
I'm not trying to be selfish about the threat, though I do live in this area. I would just like to say to all Tornsibs that are in this area to stay safe, and for the rest of the world to send us their thoughts/prayers for rain and relief for civilian and firefighter alike.
And thank you to NZ and Australian firefighters for stepping up to help in our time of need. It's not often that America needs disaster aid from other countries, but I thank you all for being willing and able to provide it when we do! 
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Annael
Immortal
Aug 21 2015, 4:01am
Post #2 of 18
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We have fires in the rainforest
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that's how bad it is.
Three firefighters were killed yesterday in Washington. They are sending in soldiers now and as as Cirashala notes, firefighters from Australia and New Zealand, for which we are very grateful.
This is the second summer in a row of extreme fires for us. In the last 10 years our weather has become completely different from the usual pattern, with much hotter and longer summers.
I am a dreamer of words, of written words. I think I am reading; a word stops me. I leave the page. The syllables of the words begin to move around … The words take on other meanings as if they had the right to be young.
-- Gaston Bachelard
* * * * * * * * * *
NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967
(This post was edited by Annael on Aug 21 2015, 4:08am)
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Ethel Duath
Half-elven
Aug 21 2015, 4:07am
Post #3 of 18
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Yes, prayers!
And many, many thanks to the NZ and Australian firefighters!
May they and everyone battling the blazes be safe.
Please stay safe yourself, Cirashala (and don't hesitate to use some appropriate type of mask outdoors . . .).
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Cirashala
Valinor
Aug 21 2015, 4:13am
Post #4 of 18
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Thanks
While I have health issues, they aren't respiratory (thank goodness). I have some friends who struggle with the smoke due to severe allergies, and they have triple filters on their ac's and are trying to stay inside as much as possible. Right now, in my area, the smoke factor in terms of air quality is moderate for healthy people (as in those who don't have respiratory issues) and slightly unhealthy for those who do.
I believe the nearest fire to my town is about 45 miles away or so, and while I'd much rather live in the woods than in town, right now I'm thankful that I live smack in the middle of my (still small but substantial enough) town with a firehouse a mere two miles away if that. My town hasn't been threatened with fire itself, just poor air quality, but there are several towns that have been evacuated with the fires in the northwest.
But as I can't stand the heat, I've been staying indoors for the most part anyway. Rode bikes down to the library, and the smoke let up just enough to make it possible, only for it to suddenly move in when we were a half mile from home. We hurried home when it moved in and stayed indoors for the rest of the afternoon.
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Kim
Valinor
Aug 21 2015, 5:05am
Post #5 of 18
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A friend of mine was traveling through Eastern Washington yesterday and posted this note on Facebook: "Our state is on fire" and another had to evacuate her home in Chelan. The Seattle Times has an interactive map of all of the wildfires. When you zoom out to see all of N. America, the Pacific NW and a large portion of Alaska appear engulfed. http://www.seattletimes.com/...ildfires-in-the-u-s/
I hadn't yet heard about the help from the firefighters from NZ and Australia, so let me add my thanks for their support. There are over 4300 firefighters working on Washington's largest fires. http://www.seattletimes.com/...out-the-wildfires-2/
The smoke from the fires had come over the mountains into the Seattle area in the last few days, but we did get some rain this morning that helped to clear it away. Unfortunately, that kind of relief is not expected anytime soon in the fire zones.
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Kilidoescartwheels
Valinor
Aug 21 2015, 1:32pm
Post #6 of 18
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Do you know if there is a donation fund for the displaced? If so please pass it along, I'll see what I can do.
"And thank you to NZ and Australian firefighters for stepping up to help in our time of need. It's not often that America needs disaster aid from other countries, but I thank you all for being willing and able to provide it when we do!"
I second that!
Proud member of the BOFA Denial Association
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Annael
Immortal
Aug 21 2015, 3:11pm
Post #7 of 18
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This article lists several ways:
http://www.seattletimes.com/...out-the-wildfires-2/
Thank you. It is absolutely staggering and we won't breathe easy (in every sense) until we start getting some steady rain - which in some years doesn't happen until November!
I am a dreamer of words, of written words. I think I am reading; a word stops me. I leave the page. The syllables of the words begin to move around … The words take on other meanings as if they had the right to be young.
-- Gaston Bachelard
* * * * * * * * * *
NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967
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Arandiel
Grey Havens
Aug 21 2015, 6:12pm
Post #8 of 18
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Colorado's Summer of Fire (2012) now feels like it was an opening act
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and I don't care for the main feature. That was the year of the High Park and Waldo Canyon fires; followed a year later by the Black Forest fire; then, in September 2013, the floods in Northern Colorado, which volunteers are still helping folks and the land recover from. And we don't get earthquakes.
All of which is to say that, even after the fires are out, there will be a lot of need. And this Earth that is our home is both resilient and fragile - we will recover, but the shape that recovery takes will require, well, a Fellowship of multitudes.
Be safe, Cirashala, and may the rains come soon. Just not too much at once.
Walk to Rivendell: Walk with the Fellowship Challenge - grab a buddy and let the magic live on, one step at a time.
Join us, Thursdays on Main!
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Annael
Immortal
Aug 21 2015, 6:38pm
Post #9 of 18
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here's a virtual representation of what's going on in North Central Washington today
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https://www.youtube.com/...19k4z921o&sns=fb
I have friends in Twisp, Winthrop, and Curlew and cousins in Kettle Falls.
I am a dreamer of words, of written words. I think I am reading; a word stops me. I leave the page. The syllables of the words begin to move around … The words take on other meanings as if they had the right to be young.
-- Gaston Bachelard
* * * * * * * * * *
NARF and member of Deplorable Cultus since 1967
(This post was edited by Annael on Aug 21 2015, 6:38pm)
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Ettelewen
Rohan
Aug 21 2015, 9:35pm
Post #10 of 18
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The Rocky Fire (approx 70,0000 acres) and Jerusalem Fire (approx 25,000 acres) are both within 10 miles of us, and the smoke has been extreme. Thanks to all of the firefighters and support personnel, and Providence, those fires are contained at last and with no loss of life. Some friends were told to evacuate and had to move themselves and their animals out of harms way for a few days. Luckily most of the acreage is uninhabited although I understand some 40+ homes have been lost even so.
We normally don't see much rain in this part of the country (Northern California) until October so we are keeping our fingers crossed that we don't have any more fires breaking out before then!
Everyone please be careful and stay safe.
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Greenwood Hobbit
Valinor
Aug 21 2015, 10:08pm
Post #11 of 18
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having to deal with so much destruction, and waiting for the relief of rain that doesn't fall. Thinking of everyone affected - and the flora and fauna of all those areas too. It's very sad.
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Cirashala
Valinor
Aug 22 2015, 12:14am
Post #12 of 18
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Ok, we managed to get a five minute downpour with lightning in my town in north Idaho- very little, but completely unexpected and I hope we get more soon! I also hope the lightning didn't start any more fires, and I also hope and pray that the downpour, however brief, will help the firefighters a bit with containing the many fires in this part of the country.
Here is a link to show just the breadth of the smoke plume from all the fires from a satellite image taken two days ago (I will put this in perspective for non-US residents)- the land area shown in this picture probably extends about 1,000 miles (1,600 km) from west to east, and about 800 miles (1,280 km) north to south. Or if you look at a map with boundaries, the states of Washington, Oregon, Idaho, a small bit of Wyoming, and most of Montana are in this pic, as is a fair portion of southern Canada. The square mileage is about 800,000 miles. For comparison, New Zealand's entire land mass is only about 100,000 square miles.
http://www.nasa.gov/...ho-washington-oregon
And that was TWO DAYS AGO- the smoke has only gotten worse since then! I live about 10 miles (16 km) away from a rather large lake that, on a normal day, I can see via google earth satellite this far out. Now? I can't see it at ALL through the smoke in this image, not even with squinting. Driving today, things looked "foggy" from smoke half a mile away, and I couldn't see the mountains surrounding my valley at all, or barely see their outlines. Smelled like a stinky barbecue pit outside today, and hard to breathe.
Here's another link to show all the fires on a US map with boundaries:
http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/index.php
And this one shows red flag warnings for "fire weather" aka dry and smoky:
http://activefiremaps.fs.fed.us/...amp;type=fireweather
(This post was edited by Cirashala on Aug 22 2015, 12:28am)
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Patty
Immortal
Aug 22 2015, 9:02am
Post #14 of 18
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I knew it was bad, I had no idea it was this bad...
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Although it's been one of the lead stories Lester reports practically every night on the Nightly News, the magnitude of this is hard to imagine. Your post has helped me to see the danger on a more personal level. I will indeed send prayers and I join in with you in thanking the other countries in sending their aid. Australia especially, cause that country spends so much time fighting fires themselves 
Permanent address: Into the West
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Kelly of Water's Edge
Rohan
Aug 22 2015, 11:13am
Post #15 of 18
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that Washington is in a state of emergency. They are sending out a desperate request for help from any volunteers qualified to operate heavy machinery who can come to assist. That's apparently what is needed most at the moment according to the last news brief.
Prayers to everyone in the area. Stay safe.
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Cirashala
Valinor
Aug 22 2015, 4:36pm
Post #16 of 18
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is HUGE now- almost 200,000 acres alone, and a massive threat to several towns. I heard about the state of emergency- took Washington DC long enough to recognize that 
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Patty
Immortal
Aug 24 2015, 11:52am
Post #17 of 18
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I think the individual state must request this first...
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Before the Feds can step in.
I missed last night's coverage ...how is it going today? My prayers are with you folks.
Permanent address: Into the West
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Cirashala
Valinor
Aug 24 2015, 4:11pm
Post #18 of 18
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The two biggest fires- the Okanogan Complex and North Star Complex- in Washington state have totaled (last update) about 376,833 acres between the two (and they are also close together- only a few km apart so the crews are trying frantically to make sure they don't join up). That's 604 square miles, or 966.4 square km. And that's just the two fires- not counting the dozens more we have going on. So far, over 7 million acres have burned total this summer in the United States- that's about 11,235 square miles, or 17,976 square km.
The smoke from them is atrocious- visibility where I live (about 4 hours' drive east of these fires) is only about a half mile, or perhaps about .75 km due to the smoke. I'm surrounded by mountains in the valley I live in, and you can't see them at ALL- not even the outlines. Skies today weather wise should be clear, but the smoke makes it look cloudy and foggy.
The Okanogan complex fire is only 10% contained, and the North Star Complex is only 3% contained, mostly due to no rain whatsoever making everything bone dry, low humidity (less than 20%), and being very windy. We need rain- BADLY- over the entire west/northwestern part of our continent.
The air quality around here is at unhealthy for everyone- everyone may experience side effects from the smoke, and are cautioned to stay indoors and keep air conditioners going to filter air.
Here is a zoomed out map of the North American continent- the green and yellow covering most of the US and parts of Canada are the smoke plumes from the fires. The fires are rather obvious- they are the flame symbols. The colored dots are air quality- green is good, yellow isn't that great but ok, orange is bad, red is worse, and purple and black are hazardous. My area is red right now in terms of air quality. You can zoom in and out to get a more accurate idea of the exact locations of fires, but this gives you an excellent idea of the scope of these fires (especially the smoke):
http://google.org/...26.541&t=TERRAIN
NOTE- I just checked my link and you have to go to the "view all layers" link on the bottom of the white box on the right and hit HMS smoke plumes and zoom out to the whole continent to get an idea of the smoke coverage.
I live in northern Idaho about two hours' drive away from Canada (in the panhandle) with closest fire to us about 40 miles away, give or take. I have family who is within 25 miles of the North Star Complex fire, and they're prepared to evacuate if need be (but there are two towns between them and the fire and the firefighters are working hard around the clock to set up fire lines and bulldozed lines to prevent the towns from going up in smoke, as some already have).
But that map will give you a good idea of how bad the smoke alone is, not to mention how many active/major fires we have going on in our country right now. The only time my area gets anything considered "natural disaster" is wildfires and the occasional blizzard or ice storm (not as frequent on the ice storm- one major one in the last twenty years is all). But because of the drought this summer, everything is perfect tinder for lightning, which caused most of these fires  And unfortunately, most of our lightning storms have been dry, which makes it even more dangerous.
(This post was edited by Cirashala on Aug 24 2015, 4:13pm)
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