Nesrie
5521
You’re saying boats masquerade as boats frequently over there?
Well, the guy in the middle lane is an idiot, but I’ve been on that stretch of road several times when the only safe lane was the leftmost one, and Ive seen an abandoned car that thought it could make it through that pond at least once before.
It’s just a particularly poorly drained and graded stretch of road. If anything in the city floods, that part will always flood.
Nesrie
5523
Good to know. My sister is in that area, sort of. They use to commute to I forget which part of the giant city, and she sent it to me. The storm largely missed them but they said there was a lot of rain.
RichVR
5524
And then there is the West Side highway. Another bad road.
Thrag
5525
One of the big fires in CA right now is the beckworth complex fire. It’s near the Nevada state line, just north of reno on the other side of the peak just northwest of the city.
It’s a pretty cloudless day today. I can see the smoke plume over the peak.
Makes it look like a volcano.
nKoan
5526
Is that Peavine? I still have some friends that live up near Bordertown/Cold Springs, I should check in.
Thrag
5527
Yes, that’s Peavine peak. The fire is not danger close but not far either from Cold Springs.
nKoan
5528
Ah, that’s getting mighty close to Portola though 😬 glad to hear it’s mostly contained now.
CraigM
5529
I just drove from Reno, through Lassen NP, and on to Medford last night. When I came out to my car at the hotel in Carson City, it was covered in ash. It was wild.
We also had just driven from Yosemite across the Tioga Pass, so we drove right through an active wildfire. It is surreal to drive through a place and see open flames on either side of the road within 20 feet.
I’ll post pics in a day or so when I get home and upload from the camera.
Thrag
5530
If you ever do that route again skip Reno proper and take the scenic route over Mt. Rose Highway to Lake Tahoe. There’s a trailhead near the summit the connects to the Tahoe Rim Trail and a bunch of other excellent hikes. As it is at altitude it’s way cooler than in the valley which makes for enjoyable hiking even in the summer heat. I posted a couple of snaps from there in the hiking thread last night.
CraigM
5531
We went from Yosemite to Mammoth (Devils Postpile), and then Mammoth to our hotel in Carson. Then next day through Lassen into Medford.
Tahoe was not a priority ;)
Thrag
5532
Just mentioning a lesser known scenic diversion if you ever come through this way again.
Though wouldn’t be very scenic today probably. The smoke from the south has now obscured the mountain completely.
Hopefully you can stay upwind of the beckworth complex in your travels.
Nesrie
5533
So we have teams of firefighters from California, i hear like 40 of them in standby in a nearby town just standing by. They’ve already gathered as a task force just standing by to help us if we burst into flames again. That’s just California. We also have firefighters from Northern Oregon here to add support. I think there is another state here too, not like a local one either, a bit further east. They said they’d be here a week or so depending on how bad CA gets hit and might actually need them again.
I have no idea if this will relieve some of this OR vs CA sentiment brewing around here, but I appreciate having them here. One fire that isn’t contained quickly is enough to overwhelmed everything we have, but of course CA has danger too.
We’ve been in Extreme Fire Condition since July 14. Everyone is nervous, constantly looking around. Our stupid Greenway that was part of the problem last year has had several small fires, but they’re there quick and there is a bit of war between transients and everyone else and that fire prone pathway.
Bootleg is not on us, it’s in Klamath but it’s… huge, around 476 square miles now. Lava and Tennant and there is another one I forget the name off. I watered the garden today and just look at the leaves rustling around. It didn’t provide relief at all, just dread. Wind is the enemy. And for those who don’t know, July is actually pretty early for fire season. It’s usually toward the end of August / September. We started dry this year… didn’t really work into it.
Meanwhile I am looking at the earth just disappearing from underneath homes, towns and cities at Europe and just feel a strange sense of horror.
Seems rather quaint after the heatwaves in the North American West, but:
Worryingly I’m heading into the affected region in a couple days, though it seems like it will only be reaching 27 C in that particular part (which is cooler than it is here today)
KevinC
5535
Not at all, it’s relative. Like that cold snap in Texas earlier this year, if the temperature is extreme for the area it can get scary. Homes, infrastructure, etc. just aren’t going to be built to deal with it, even if it’s fairly mild by another region’s standards!
Hope the people there will be okay.
Nesrie
5536
Yeah it’s relative. I believe OR’s new high heat employer requirements kick in at 90 or 91 which is not even that hot here. Anyone who works outside in this area would know they are going to be constantly in something hotter than that in the summer, but in the Portland area, I believe that is considered toasty, and not everyone has A/C… although they might be addressing that more each year.
CraigM
5537
Yes on all counts. The average for the last two decades in Portland is something like 13 days over 90 a year
Also my return trip home from Yosemite took me through your area and I saw the aftermath of the fire last year. There was a massive lot right off the interstate that was totally barren and flattened, I’m guessing that was one of the trailer home areas that got taken out. Weird to see, and sad.
If you didn’t know to look you could miss it, but once you see it’s hard to ignore.
Nesrie I heard a report today about a fire somewhere on the west coast they are just letting burn. I didn’t understand the apparent good that happens from some of these fires and the report was about not only that but the decisions that take place to allowed controlled (if that’s even a term) wildfires so that they can manage around that but allow new growth within it. It’s a bit surreal to hear them talking about allowing thousands of acres to just burn as a, “good thing,” but then again, I’m not forest ranger nor know much about it.
I’m hoping with all I can that despite the absolute crazy temps and lack of rain in that area that it’s mild fire season.
Thrag
5539
Today I experienced rain and wildfire smoke simultaneously. That’s a new one.
nKoan
5540
Some conifers need heat to open their cones. So, fire (if moderate) can help a forest bounce back. A fire also clears away the underbrush that can prevent tree saplings from getting the sunlight they need. The underbrush will come back in short order and if the fire doesn’t go too crazy, the bigger trees will survive. In 5-10 years you could have more trees in a burned area.
Many of the plants in the west evolved with fire and have mechanisms to deal with it.
But once a fire gets too big, it can devastate the landscape, threaten structures and definitely cause more harm than good. Burned areas are also more prone to landslides and erosion and if food isn’t present animals will move out.
There used to be controlled burns in but I think now they let smaller fires burn in controlled manners as they naturally pop up.
