Smoke in the High Sierra

Just thought I would pass this along for anyone coming this way. The fire down near Yosemite that started just this past weekend is making a mess out of breathable air in the Sierra and all the way up to Reno. July arrives and the west starts burning everywheres, see the map.
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/
https://www.tahoedailytribune.com/n...-cause-haze-smoke-in-lake-tahoe-basin-friday/
https://www.rgj.com/story/news/2018/07/20/ferguson-fire-reduces-air-quality-reno-area/807292002/

Given that forest fires are a fact of life anymore in the west, it occurs to me that the following links might be placed in a sticky somewheres on this forum, so people can find them easily.

https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/

https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/imagery.php
https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/

forest fires have always been a fact of life in the west. even before man. however man has not helped, in fact he has made it worse. highdesertranger

^
That doesn't quite help people driving into smoke country, which currently includes the entire western US.

A huge problem is the 7-year long drought in the west. I am also beginning to think that the forest service people are just plain incompetent. Including the current Ferguson fire, there have been 3 "major" fires just outside the west gate of Yosemite over the past several years. Of all the places for the system to break down, that's one of the worst. Competent practice would be to go in and thin out the forests and clear underbrush, at least enough that the fires wouldn't spread so easily and quickly.

QinReno said:

Competent practice would be to go in and thin out the forests and clear underbrush, at least enough that the fires wouldn't spread so easily and quickly.

Click to expand...

Thinning out forests and clearing underbrush is very expensive.  With their budget cuts they can do only so much.

^
That's exactly right. I've been looking at some figures, and about 50% of forest service budget of $5B now goes to fighting fires. Relatively little goes to "Hazardous Fuel Reduction" (graph near bottom of page).
http://www.g-a-l.info/ForestFireReport.htm
http://www.g-a-l.info/images/clip_image006_0013.jpg

Seems to me that is a tiny amount of money, considering that the entire damn west is on fire every year. 
https://www.oregonwild.org/sites/default/files/us_wildfire_costs_2017.jpg
https://www.oregonwild.org/about/blog/will-fire-funding-fix-actually-fix-anything

My thought was that they might at least prioritize clearing areas like around Yosemite which gets 5,000,000 visitors every year. It's rough territory, but the lumber companies are able to clear-cut mountainsides, so it's doable. Seems to be no will in washington.

For anyone heading this way, the Ferguson fire by Yosemite is still growing by leaps and bounds, and they have closed down Yosemite Valley, at least for now.
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5927/

Just an update for anyone coming this way. When I made the previous post, the Ferguson fire was probably 1/3 its present size, but it has been going berserk. Now 56,000 acres. Yosemite Valley is closed at least until the end of this week.

Also, the Carr fire near Redding just started 7 days ago, and it's already a disaster at 98,000 acres. Burned over 700 homes. The smoke is horrendous.
http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/incidentdetails/Index/2164
https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/data/im...12056-2018209212927_250m_ca-north-000_143.jpg

Have had the same problem here in Colorado. It has been a hotter than average summer not to mention very dry although we have had some rain the past couple of days but not enough to make much of a difference. The weekend before last was the worst I have ever seen the smoke here in Colorado.

I just found a new website. This is what the smoke looks like from the top of Mammoth Mountain.
https://www.mammothmountain.com/cams/summit-cam

I hate to see all the forests burning up like that. Not to mention the homes and folks it is affecting.

Another update for anyone on their way to California. Much of the northern part of the state is very smoky due to 3 massive fires. 
https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/data/im...12727-2018216213537_250m_ca-north-000_143.jpg
https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/data/im...12727-2018216213537_250m_ca-north-000_721.jpg
https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/imagery.php?op=fire&fireID=ca-north-000

The Mendocino Complex fire north of the Bay Area has exploded, and is now much larger than the other two.
http://www.fire.ca.gov/current_incidents/
Carr: 150,000 acres
Mendocino: 250,000 acres
Ferguson: 90,000 acres - all 3 roads into Yosemite Valley from the west are in the fire zone now.
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/photos/CAS...N-FIRE/picts/2018_08_05-07.59.41.867-CDT.jpeg
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5927/

Another update on California fires. Northern CA is still heavy with smoke. The Mendocino fire is the largest in state history at 360,000 acres. The Carr fire near Redding is still burning.
https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/imagery.php?op=fire&fireID=ca-north-000
https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/data/im...02548-2018226203524_250m_ca-north-000_143.jpg
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6073/

I just came back from 8-days in the southern Sierra, and things are improving down there, south of Mammoth. The Owens Valley is full of smoke, but the air was quite clear in the campgrounds at 8000-9000 feet, so doable. A new fire did start on the Sonora Pass Hwy, which is currently closed, and the fire is producing huge amounts of smoke north of Lee Vining.
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6092/
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/photos/CASTF/2018-08-04-1238-Donnell/picts/2018_08_15-10.01.41.326-CDT.jpeg

While this thread has been about smoke in the High Sierra's thought I would warn about coming to northern Oregon, around Portland, if you think this is the direction you want to come to get out of the smoke.  Visibility across the Portland metro area, which includes Vancouver WA area, is about 2 miles or less because of smoke.

I started this thread because CA is in my backyard, and there have been massive fires all over the state the past month, more than 700,000 acres burning, including the large fire near Yosemite, which is a big visitor draw. They have reopened Yosemite Valley, obviously for money reasons, but the air quality is generally in the unhealthy range.
https://wildlandfiresmoke.net/outlooks/YosemiteArea

Many other areas in the west are on fire now, in Oregon. Washington and Montana. The massive fire in southwestern Oregon near Grants Pass has been going on for a month now, with smoke going all over the western part of the state.
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/photos/ORR...e-Fire/picts/2018_08_15-09.05.29.607-CDT.jpeg
https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/data/im...18227210827-2018227211618_250m_or-000_143.jpg
https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/data/im...18225211851-2018225212927_250m_or-000_143.jpg
https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/imagery.php?op=fire&fireID=or-000
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/5998/

Time for another update. The CA fires are finally starting to come under control. The southern Sierra are now basically clear of smoke. However, Oregon, Washington, and Idaho/Montana are now the bad places.
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/
https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/imagery.php

Idaho/Montana:
https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/data/im...31204216-2018231205206_250m_id-mt-000_143.jpg

All told the CA fires were enormous: Mendocino 400,000 acres, Carr/Redding 230,000 acres, Ferguson/Yosemite 97,000, Donnell/Sonora 32,000 acres.
https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/data/im...04327-2018231205206_250m_ca-north-000_143.jpg

Compared to a week ago .... good time to travel.
- NorCal - smoke looks better. Carr fire 96% contained, Mendocino 90% contained, 689,000 acres burned in just these 2 fires.
https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/data/im...13317-2018239214124_250m_ca-north-000_143.jpg
- Oregon - smoke looks better.
https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/data/im...18239213317-2018239214124_250m_or-000_143.jpg
- Washington - smoke looks better.
https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/data/im...18239213317-2018239214124_250m_wa-000_143.jpg

See how pretty it is in Mammoth today. Clear skies.
https://www.mammothmountain.com/cams/summit-cam
Yosemite is open again, and they said on the radio that many people had gone elsewhere due to the fire, so it's easy to find spaces in the area.

I've been working in the southern Sierras as a camphost this summer. The air quality has been bad for the last two months and isn't getting better yet. You don't notice it as much when in the trees, but when you get into a clearing and see for a distance, the filthy haze is very noticeable. I've had a sore throat most of the summer. I wonder what the smoke is doing to my health?

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Iggy said:

I've been working in the southern Sierras as a camphost this summer. The air quality has been bad for the last two months and isn't getting better yet. You don't notice it as much when in the trees, but when you get into a clearing and see for a distance, the filthy haze is very noticeable. I've had a sore throat most of the summer. I wonder what the smoke is doing to my health?

Click to expand...

Hi Iggy. Are you hosting down in the Owens Valley or up at one of the higher elevation CGs, or over on the west side? Three weeks ago, I was down 395 south as far as Lone Pine, and smoke in the Owens Valley was horrible, but at 8000-9000' at Whitney Portal, Big Pine Crk, and Lake Sabrina the smoke was minimal. Also the smoke all along 395 north of Mammoth was also bad.

Anymore they seem to have the fires in CA pretty much under control (duh), so things should be improving over the next few weeks. Top of Mammoth looks very nice today. When I was there you could barely see the Minarets through the smoke.
https://www.mammothmountain.com/cams/summit-cam
https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/data/im...03956-2018240204658_250m_ca-north-000_143.jpg