When it comes to clean air around Mount Shasta we’ve been very lucky. The smoke has been hanging somewhere else lately, and I’ve been too lazy to visit my Wundermap to find out exactly where.

Can you see how clean the lines are around the pine needles of last night’s sunset, though? I’m having the Great Printer of sendoutcards make a greeting card of this one. Sad to say, the colors were intensified by dirty air coming from the direction of Happy Camp. For the latest posted update on the Panther and N. Ukonom Fire , click here.

Or, check out this paragraph I lifted from the actual report: “Friday, (August 23rd) observed fire behavior on the Panther and North Ukonom Fires was moderate with isolated torching. All fire growth occurred in the wilderness. Firefighters began construction on a segment of line in the wilderness south of Ukonom Lake to check the eastward progression of the fire. Crews continued to make good progress repairing fireline elsewhere outside of the wilderness. Today, crews will continue the line construction in the wilderness. Other crews will repair, mop up and patrol fireline on the rest of the fire.”

I really like that word “torching”. There’s plenty of dead and dried-out trees ready to explode, so I can just imagine what they’re talking about. It’s kind of scary, though. But “Wilderness” is the key word, don’t you think? It provides some very telling info on how the fire is viewed by those in command.

Speaking of viewing, Chris and I flew over the burning zone on the way to Salt Lake because of our convoluted flight path. We couldn’t see any crews, though. We could see many tendrils of smoke from separate blazes, rising up out of the remote mountains on the west side of the plane.

I understand why the Forest Service sometimes follows the let-it-burn policy, but I wonder when all the Northern California Lightning Fires will burn themselves out—you know, run out of fuel jackpots. Here’s what the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection has to say:

2008 Lightning Series Overview

On June 20, 2008, a thunderstorm system moved over California striking over two thousand lightning sparked fires. California has recieved ( i before e except after c, folks) assistance from state, local, federal and even national agencies to help combat these fires. More…

Estimation for containment of the Panther Fire, just south of Happy Camp, is August 28th. But like I said before, folks, containment only means someone draws a line around all the blazes, and everybody gets to work trying to make that a reality. Basically, it’s just where firefighters have chosen to make a stand. There are no guarantees.

For a full update on all the Northern California fires, click here. You can get exposed to some real fire-speak. Again, I like their descriptive terms: “creeping and smoldering within interior islands, fuel jackpots, potential for roll-out, smokejumpers…..”

Smokejumpers are exactly what comes to mind, though: Heroic types who jump from the sky into remote inaccessible ares that are smoking. For a more detailed description, follow the Wikipedia link. If you have a yearning to be one, click for their home page, but you might want to read this next line first: “Smokejumpers completed work in Division L (South of Ukonom Lake) and were extracted.

That word “extracted” kind of scares me. Just imagine being extracted from this:

Current Fire Information

When CAL FIRE responds to a major incident the Department will create a web site. Major emergency incidents could include large, extended-day fires, floods, earthquakes, hazardous material spills, etc. More…

Happy Tales,

Laura signing off

p.s. no p.s.