WA Wildfires - Road closures

[louiskathy]

WA Wildfire Road Closures

If you are there... trying to get out of the smoke... stay safe.

If you are headed there because you have vacation plans for the Methow Valley, Winthrop, Twisp, Omak, Leavenworth etc etc ... change your plans.

[paulj]

Weather has been a big factor in this set of fires on the eastern side of the Washington Cascades.

http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2014/07/gusting-winds-result-in-explosive-fire.html

The weather has been hot and dry, in the upper 80s around Seattle, closer to 100 in the interior. Midweek some mostly dry thunderstorms passed through, starting a number of small fires. But then winds picked up, due to higher pressure along the coasts (with cooling in Seattle). It's those winds that fanned the small fires into these large ones.

[SRT]

Well, these fires will clean up many years of forest fire tinder. This is a by product of not allowing the forest to "clean itself" every few years. Then allowing the loggers in to clean out the salvageble trees. It always "looks like hell" for a few years until the new trees have grown enough to cover the burn scars.

I remember passing through Yellowstone a few years after a big fire. Lots of new trees growing helping turn everything green again.

[Bruce_and_Sue]

This thing is crazy, I've fought a couple wild fires and it's not something I'd like to do on a daily basis.

Wild fire photos

[louiskathy]

Local News... Northwest Local that is.

Methow Valley Info... facebookclicky

[louiskathy]

I would not go there in August to escape smoke. It's going to be a mess up there for a long time. They evacuated Pearrygin State Park. Pateros had a lot of buildings burned up yesterday and it is not over. Winthrop and Twisp are not where you want to be right now or in August. JMHO.
Clicky

http://www.parks.wa.gov/563/Pearrygin-Lake

[Ka_Ron]

We are planning on a trip to the Omak / Wenatchee area the beginning of August, so we will keep an eye on the reports and the fires.
We were going to go down to get away from our own smoke and fires.
Might have to stray farther afield to find clean air this summer.