Northwest fires

[Jim Franklin]

One of the fires alone near the Southeast corner of Oregon just down the road from Boise burned more than 800 square miles which would equal about 2/3 or the state of Rhode Island. There are 11 major fires burning in Idaho at present most are not near populated areas but to the east of Boise is the Trinity fire where several small towns are facing complete evacuation, Rocky Bar, Pine, Featherville and Atlanta.

The big fire in Washington State is near Cle Elem and has already destroyed about 70 homes. Most of these have been caused by dry lightening storms. One young lady was killed when a burning tree toppled onto a dead snag and the snag came down on her.

[Lucas Finch]

On Monday morning, smoke started filling the Bitterroot Valley from a fire in the Idaho portion of the Bitterroot Mountains. It continued to fill the valley all day Monday and Tuesday. It was so thick Tuesday evening that the mountains five miles away were completely hidden. The sun looked like a big red ball as it dropped down in the west.



My house does not have air conditioning, so during the summer I sleep with all the windows open. I need cool air around me to be able to sleep. However, the smoke made it impossible to breathe (I have asthma). So what I ended up doing was setting up an air mattress on the floor of my church's air conditioned gym right next door to my house. Tuesday night I had the best night of sleep that I have had in weeks! Also that night a good breeze came up and cleared our most of the smoke.

Fire season burns on, though. Never a pleasant time to live in this part of the country.

[Jim Franklin]

I'd rather have the smoke than tornados, hurricanes, blizzards, floods etc. I can use a nose mask if I have to be outside.

[Sarah Smith]

No fires near us, PTL, but even as far away as we are we are breathing the pacific northwest fires.

Me, my sinuses, and my asthma are all ready for snow!

[Jim Franklin]

Featherville is under mandatory evacuation order. This includes the governors retreat home. and over 300 year round residents beside the seasonal ones. The smoke from that and other fires drifts eastword toward Wyoming and Salt Lake. The smoke here in Boise is from Northern California and Oregon fires.

[Jim Franklin]

The three biggest fires here in Idaho are over 100,000 acres in size totalling over 400,000 acres. Featherville has been saved but the Scout camp where our troop summer camped is surrounded by the Halstead fire northwest of Stanley.

[Lucas Finch]

The three biggest fires here in Idaho are over 100,000 acres in size totalling over 400,000 acres. Featherville has been saved but the Scout camp where our troop summer camped is surrounded by the Halstead fire northwest of Stanley.

A little northeast of that is the Mustang Complex fire. It is at over 145,000, and it is pouring smoke across the border and into the Bitterroot Valley where I live, making it difficult for me to breathe. If it's this bad some 50 or so miles away, I can't imagine how terrible it is in Idaho right now.

[Craig Laughlin]

I was in Nampa last week to drop off my son. We were at a lunch with a group of folks and happened to sit with some people who live in Calf and have been evacuated several times over the years. As we were sitting there one of them mentioned smelling smoke and I could see his anxiety going up. After he mentioned it I too could smell it. (he was much more tuned in) Then his wife observed that the little bits of stuff falling on us (we were eating outdoors) was debris from a fire and that the air was getting smokey. Strange stuff.