Uncle! Already!!!

[Big Skyz]

Guys I know that most of the nation is focused on hurricane Harvey and it is absolutely tragic what is going on over there. However, Montana has been in a state of emergency for months now. I haven't seen blue sky for nearly 2 1/2 months because of all the smoke. The air quality is terrible. Everyone wakes up each morning feeling like they've been kicked in the head and that's if you can sleep. People are losing their homes and businesses as the relentless fires continue to eat up thousands of acres on a daily basis. I've lived here over 20 years and I've never seen anything like it. We have zero rain in the forecast and higher than normal temperatures, add wind to that and it's a super bad situation in Montana. So when you send up a prayer for the hurricane victims, please send another for Montana. We'll take prayers, good vibes, good thoughts or whatever you have. Folks it's really bad out here!

A few pics.
Why I'm not spending a lot of time outside. The risk is just too great this year.
http://wac.450f.edgecastcdn.net/80450F/ksenam.com/files/2012/06/Dahl-Fire-3.jpg

Many homes and cabins have been lost and many more predicted to burn before this is over.
http://msnbcmedia.msn.com/i/MSNBC/Components/Photo/_new/120901_montana-fire.jpg

I think a lot of people forget just how bad this kind of situation is for livestock. Both livestock and wildlife are taking heavy tolls this year. I don't think one can exaggerate how bad things are in Montana this year.
http://bloximages.chicago2.vip.townnews.com/billingsgazette.com/content/tncms/assets/v3/editorial/4/a0/4a0ffed9-20ba-5f25-8c49-9183a5888cfe/50d0a9cb36f12.preview-620.jpg

[Big Muddy]

Dang, Sky, I had no idea.....prayers headed your way.....be careful out there.

[Big Skyz]

BM, first of all thank you. Second, I'm not surprised you didn't know about it. The national/international media hasn't hardly whispered a word about what is going on here, despite the fact that over a quarter million acres have burned so far. The worst part is there is no end in sight until we get some rain or snow. Unfortunately that usually doesn't happen until October, if then. Right now there is a small town called Seeley, which is right next to a popular recreation lake called Seeley Lake, that could go up in flames any day. I mean the whole town could disappear. They have closed the schools there indefinitely and evacuated the residents. Here where I live we have been under red flag conditions for weeks and the air quality is rated as unhealthy. One stray lightening bolt, cigarette, spark from a car, or farm machinery and this whole area will go up like a roman candle.

[BarryBobPosthole]

I knew about it and agree there needs to be more coverage. I thought this last round was started by thunderstorms though. I live near wildfire country too and unfortunately we have our fair share started by idiots.

BKB

[Hombre]

That's tough Big sky your in my thought and prayers. Been a lot of smoke in WA from Montana and BC fires.

[quercus alba]

Undesirables (white, middle class, conservative) don't get that don't get that type of media coverage unless they do or say something that can be misconstrued as racist or homophobic

[Chicken Dinner]

Man, thoughts and prayers in the way. I've got enough friends out in the mountain west and am aware. But, those pics really bring it home.


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[Penguin]

Goodness Troy. I've been in "nose in the books" (literally) for the last few weeks. I know that you westerners have to contend with it a lot but had no idea you were having it so badly this season. This time last year they were just getting some of the towns around here ready to condemn after all the flooding. It is tough to stomach.

Hope for the best for you.

Will

[Big Skyz]

BBP, they were mostly what's called dry thunder storms. They come with plenty of boom and bang, but very little, if any, rain. They are the worst kind under these conditions. Most of the fires in Montana are because of lightening strikes, but a few were cause by people as well. We had one right here 3 miles from my house last Friday because some genius was grinding some kind of tool on his grinder and the sparks were landing in the field on the other side of his fence. We were all darn lucky the wind blew the fire away from the houses instead of towards the neighborhood. Still, blasting sparks from a grinder into a dry grass covered field does take a special kind of stupid. Thankfully our local fire crew responded quickly and got the fire out before it got any bigger than 30 or 40 acres.

[Arty]

That is sad stuff. I had no idea.

[Thumper]

Add me to the list of people who had no clue. Stay safe buddy.

[BarryBobPosthole]

During our last big drought cycle it got to where you couldn't drive vehicles off of the road because the catalytic convertors would get hot enough to ignite the grass.

Wildfires are a blessing and a curse. The blessing being they rid the area of understory fuel for the next one for a while, and a curse in that they sure can get big and tear up a lot of stuff.

I've heard theories that one of the reasons we have them like we do is because we're so good at preventing them.

BKB

[johnboy]

Bad year for fires for sure. Huge swaths of the interior of BC are burning as well as northern Manitoba and Saskatchewan. Thousands of people have been evacuated. Only thing that will stop the burning is rain, lots and lots of rain. Too bad it's not in the forecast.

Hope you guys stay safe.

[Penguin]

johnboy: I remember living up in Minnesota while they had those bad fires up in Canada. What was it? 2 or 3 years ago?

Anyway I know what Big Sky is saying when it comes to breathing. Coming from the mountains back east I had no idea how the smoke would travel so far and stay so dense. The sky looked dreary and smoggy. Breathing was a bit tougher too. Smoke is a bitch to be out in even if the forest fire that produced it is 500 miles away.

Will

[johnboy]

We've been lucky so far with the smoke. Most of our wind has been from the NW and keeps it away. Had a few bad days but nothing like those poor people in the way of the prevailing winds.

[Captain]

That's as bad as it gets. Prayers for all involved. Hope y'all get a soaking rain soon

[Chicken Dinner]

Of course, now there's a fire outside LA and it's all over the news this morning. It's enough to give somebody that doesn't live on a coast a complex.


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[BarryBobPosthole]

Hey, we like to not be noticed here in flyover country. Even noticers don't notice us.
BKB

[Big Skyz]

I posted that over a quarter if a million acres has burned so far. That was based off a report I read a week or two ago. I just read the most recent report and it's now just under 700,000 acres! I am quite confident we will go over a million acres soon. How far over is of great concern right now.