BS: Smoky Skies south from Alaska, Canada

Subject: BS: Smoky Skies south from Alaska, Canada
From: Alice
Date: 03 Aug 09 - 07:48 PM

I thought we had a forest fire near to us here in Montana today, as the smoke is so bad you can see it in the air a block away, the mountains partly obscured by it.

I checked the news online and found the fires are actually in Alaska and Canada, sending a plume of smoke south through Montana and east to the Great Lakes.

Here is a satellite photo of the plume of smoke:
http://www.osdpd.noaa.gov/ml/land/hms.html


Alice

Subject: RE: BS: Smoky Skies south from Alaska, Canada
From: gnu
Date: 03 Aug 09 - 08:01 PM

Nasty!

Subject: RE: BS: Smoky Skies south from Alaska, Canada
From: Ebbie
Date: 03 Aug 09 - 10:19 PM

I don't believe that southeast Alaska has any fires extant. The smoke we are seeing here today is coming from British Columbia and from Yukon Territory.

Farther north in Alaska- in the Anchorage area and in the interior - are a number of lively fires that are sending smoke south.

The one upside to our smoke is that we will have spectacular sunsets for the duration. Normally we don't have enough particulates - read 'pollutants' - in our sky to make a lot of color, but some years bacl YT had some serious fires and we had gorgeously red/orange/deep red clouds for a week.

Subject: RE: BS: Smoky Skies south from Alaska, Canada
From: open mike
Date: 03 Aug 09 - 10:25 PM

it is smokey here too....i see quite a splotch on the map in north east
calif. we had a trememdous lightning storm here on saturday night. Many
of these fires resulted from that storm.

here is the incident page from Cal Fire (formerly known as CDF)
http://cdfdata.fire.ca.gov/incidents/incidents
There are several national forests near here dealing with these fires
Plumas, Lassen, Klamath, Six Rivers,
http://www.fs.fed.us/r5/lassen/
http://inciweb.org/state/5/

Looks dense up your way....I recall Montana being smokey most summers....

Subject: RE: BS: Smoky Skies south from Alaska, Canada
From: open mike
Date: 03 Aug 09 - 10:28 PM

sometimes volcanoes cause colorful sunsets too..
in fact i remember seeing the sun set in the sky
at 2 in the afternoon in L.A. from the smog...

Subject: RE: BS: Smoky Skies south from Alaska, Canada
From: katlaughing
Date: 04 Aug 09 - 12:04 AM

My sister said, on Saturday, they have had lots of smoky skies up in North Pole, near Fairbanks.

Subject: RE: BS: Smoky Skies south from Alaska, Canada
From: KT
Date: 04 Aug 09 - 12:46 AM

Don't like it at all. eyes are burning, smoke smell everywhere-can't even see the mountain from my house anymore. NOT good for the lungs. UGH.

Subject: RE: BS: Smoky Skies south from Alaska, Canada
From: open mike
Date: 04 Aug 09 - 02:45 AM

wow even minnesota, michigan, iowa, and the dakotas

wonder how the map data got named "GASP (GOES Aerosol/Smoke Products)"
quite appropriate, eh? GASP, indeed@!!

Subject: RE: BS: Smoky Skies south from Alaska, Canada
From: Ebbie
Date: 04 Aug 09 - 03:39 AM

On tonight's walk with my dog I saw the moon as red as I've ever seen it, I think. Plus the smoke and haze have made the night much darker than normal for this time of year. At 10:00 it was actually dark.

The whole thing reminded me forcefully of 'The Road'. I have a feeling that I'll never forget that book.

Subject: RE: BS: Smoky Skies south from Alaska, Canada
From: Alice
Date: 04 Aug 09 - 09:14 AM

oooooh The Road. I listened to it on tape while driving for my job. It was chilling.

Subject: RE: BS: Smoky Skies south from Alaska, Canada
From: Ebbie
Date: 04 Aug 09 - 11:06 AM

They're making a movie on it, Alice. Robert Duvall is supposed to be in it. A Mudcatter told that its release has been postponed from the previous October date.

I don't know if I'll go see it. As bleak but riveting as the book is I'm afraid the movie won't create the same atmosphere. Heaven knows, I don't want it to be more bleak and riveting. :)

Speaking of the book, I'm glad that it didn't go in for the obvious ending but, just to myself, I pretend that in the end they find a tiny sprig of green grass.

Subject: RE: BS: Smoky Skies south from Alaska, Canada
From: 3refs
Date: 04 Aug 09 - 11:18 AM

The powers that be are saying this is the worst year ever for fires in BC. Sunday alone, they had 169 new fires. Not positive, but I think they've brought in Firefighters from every Province!

Subject: RE: BS: Smoky Skies south from Alaska, Canada
From: Alice
Date: 04 Aug 09 - 12:33 PM

Ebbie, when the father and son left the underground fallout shelter that they found stocked with all the supplies, I was thinking NO! NO! NO! Don't go back out there on THE ROAD again!!!

Subject: RE: BS: Smoky Skies south from Alaska, Canada
From: Don Firth
Date: 04 Aug 09 - 04:02 PM

It looks like the Puget Sound basin (where I live--Seattle) has escaped it so far. But all we need is a little change of breeze. . . .

Don Firth

Subject: RE: BS: Smoky Skies south from Alaska, Canada
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 04 Aug 09 - 05:05 PM

Rain in Calgary has dispelled the smoke odor and the reddish tint to daylight which resulted from BC fires.
The rain also welcome because rainfall has been below average here.

Subject: RE: BS: Smoky Skies south from Alaska, Canada
From: Ebbie
Date: 04 Aug 09 - 08:29 PM

I had the same reaction about the fallout shelter, Alice, but of course I remembered that they had a destination- as undefined as it was. They had to leave. I just hope other people happened upon that same shelter. :)

What a book.

Subject: RE: BS: Smoky Skies south from Alaska, Canada
From: Q (Frank Staplin)
Date: 04 Aug 09 - 09:17 PM

Adding to a post above, firefighters come from all over to help out.
One of the teams working in western Canada comes from the Indian pueblos of New Mexico. They have quite a history of fighting fires, as do other American Indian firefighter groups.

Fire Warriors

Subject: RE: BS: Smoky Skies south from Alaska, Canada
From: Ebbie
Date: 04 Aug 09 - 10:32 PM

It hasn't been nearly as smokey in Juneau today. It's hazy but not it is not obviously smoke. I don't know why the difference.