Well, at least we got away from hurricanes and tropical storms

I took this photo Friday afternoon after the smoke blew in during the night. The tall tree on the left is 315 yards from the back door. If you squint real hard you can see a small white square just below the center of the photo. That’s the wrap on a wall of a house under construction. It’s 720 yards away. Love my laser rangefinder.

We have the southern edge of 3 separate fires just 40 miles to the northwest of us that cover 450,000 acres, one fire 40 miles due west that covers 160,000 acres, and a fire 60 miles southwest that covers 115,000 acres. Containment is not over 10% for any of the fires. The 3 fires to the northwest will probably merge tomorrow or Tuesday. Air quality has been hazardous and will likely continue through Monday and Tuesday. But we’re the lucky ones and only have to deal with the smoke.

Tens of thousands of people have been evacuated. Entire towns have burned to the ground. No one knows what the death count will be but it’s likely to be high. Much like the Gulf Coast, people don’t want to leave their homes so they ignore the evacuation orders.