24/7 Chat About Anything

[maki2]

Air quality here in Monroe WA rated as unhealth for suseptible individuals. fortunately my bronchitis has cleared uo over the last month so I. am not being bothherd by the smokeoother than a little sinus irritation. But the fires are on the far side of the East side of the Cascade mountains so I am in no danger.

Another long day of packaging kits. I had hoped to be able to finish by tonight with cutting and packaging but it looks to be one more day of it is needed  Tedious work but not strenous. By the afternoon my back is pretty darned sore. one of these days when I get rid of m


ore stuff I will have room to travel with a zero gravity recliner for breaks to relax my back.

I am holding up OK to the heat though which is a relief. The breeze here makes all the difference between heat exhaustion or not. next week's forecast is showing clouds but no rain temps in the 70s. Fine by me, that is the  perfect type of weather to work on my build, no scorching sun and no rain.

 

[Sofisintown]

There is this interactive map that you can zoom in any place...
Looks like half the country is burning. (US Wildfire reports)

https://www.arcgis.com/apps/webappv...er=-13513286.8635,6108323.9035,102100&level=7

 

[travelaround]

I have been shocked by the orange air in coastal cities and towns. Worst year ever for smoke pollution? We had good air here in Yreka until this afternoon. 

I'm in the hotel room again appreciating very nice accommodations.  Probably will be in hotels for weeks while things get sorted out. Unfortunately I'll have to check in with Red Cross daily during this time. Hotel vouchers are given for only a day at a time.

Looked for my outdoor cats at the cat shelter. They weren't there while I was packing. They weren't at the cat shelter either though about 50 other cats were there.

Here's my son's video of the evacuation the day the fire started. The guy he's talking to at the beginning is his roommate who runs the Napa store.

[video=youtube]

 

[Sofisintown]

Heartbreaking... I'm glad he's OK, and you too.

 

[maki2]

Looking at the air quality reports to this whole region where I am staying is rated unhealthy. Of course it is even worse in the area of Oregon I want to go to after I leave WA state.  I am feeling OK though but while it is a sunny day the smoke haze is  very visible even looking across the campground it looks as if there was some ground fog.

I am going to treat myself today to a short exploration of the towns two river side parks. Not enough play time this summer. The fall will be much the same. But I have winter in AZ to look forward to

 

[Qxxx]

Speaking of gaining weight, I took the scale and put it on the "carpet" and weighed myself. It said 210#, WTH? Then I put it on the hard floor where I usually use it, and it said 180#, right where it has been for several years. Whew. So much for the scientific method.

Speaking of bad air, this site shows how the area over much of OR to Seattle is very bad right now. Click on "Surface Visibility", etc. "Near Surface Smoke" looks really bad.
https://hwp-viz.gsd.esrl.noaa.gov/smoke/#

 

[travelaround]

Good morning.. doing errands today. UPS, post office, turning off utilities, whatever. This afternoon will get a tetanus shot so I can sift through wreckage. We might get the "official" bad news later today and get permission to return to our wrecked properties tomorrow.

 

[shadowmoss]

Thinking of you and all who are affected by the fires this year.  Stay safe.

 

[maki2]

The smoke was really thick all day. The afternoon breeze never showed up. I noticed the sun did not have the ability to cast shadows due to the smoke.

I ended up taking the day off from cutting and packaging because I am staying here through the weekend and not goin to Seattle until Monday when an Amazon package is due to arrive.

My former workshop mate is out of town until Sunday or Monday anyway. He went to Salt Lake city to help his son move all his stuff from there to some property his son just bought elsewhere WA State. At least now I can go visit with my best friend again and boondock in the neighborhood without worrying about being harrassed by his son. He bought in a small town that is closer to Portland than Seattle.

 

[crofter]

Fire disaster in Oregon where I used to camp host. Blessed are those who have an RV set up for bug out, and use it. I know there are people up there who live in the woods and ride their thumb to town. Hope they were able to get in a lake or river when it got hot. 
-crofter

Description: link to news account, text pics, video.
https://www.oregonlive.com/news/202...ge-in-rvs-shopping-malls-fraternal-lodge.html

 

[travelaround]

Hi.. I'm so sad this fire went north to threaten towns in Southern Oregon! We often visit Cave Junction in the warm months. Pass is closed in winter.

Getting back into the fire zone to look at our disasters... is likely to take a long time because agencies have staffing shortages because there are so many fires this month.

Still have not been given official notice of my home's condition and I called a fire information number today to ask about when to expect that. She gave me no hope of it happening any time in the next decade.

People are complaining about thoughtless comments uttered by deputies and are trying to get them fired. Things like... "I  don't care if it all burns," and ... "You can't come into the fire zone to take food to hungry people who refused to evacuate... we will starve them out." I really have mixed feelings about that because ... why did they refuse to evacuate and then want someone to provide food? Hmmm.?

Meanwhile I heard that 9 people were arrested for looting homes that were evacuated, and that one was a LEO. This is some kind of rumor I guess... heard it from a neighbor whose home was also incinerated.

People recognize my van from my video and stop to talk to me. One was a man who owns a home around the corner from me that didn't burn. A very nice property too... glad the firefighters chose to save it.

So, that's the news. Meanwhile I'm luxuriating in a Red Cross paid for hotel room. Found out they usually expect fire survivors to sleep en mass in one room like in a gym. We're getting the royal hotel treatment because of Covid.

Enough said.

 

[maki2]

The sun will not be very visible today because of all the smoke. No places to go to get away from it.

Time for everyone to start doing rain dances, sending up prayers, making offerings etc. OK tribe get busy with that today!! Lots of rain, without lightening, is the only solution to the current wildfire problem.

 

[Qxxx]

Hi.. I'm so sad this fire went north to threaten towns in Southern Oregon! We often visit Cave Junction in the warm months. Pass is closed in winter.

Getting back into the fire zone to look at our disasters... is likely to take a long time because agencies have staffing shortages because there are so many fires this month.

The incident maps show the HC (Slater) Fire went north across the OR state line and west over to 199, and it surrounds HC on 3 sides. Earlier in the week, the winds were blowing towards the west and southwest, as indicated in the link, but now they are shifting to a more northerly direction. If they shift to the east, then HC might be overrun, so probably good you are not able to go back yet.
https://kymkemp.com/2020/09/08/fire-near-slater-closes-hwy-96-and-forces-evacuations-of-happy-camp/

I found this site showing winds, so easy to track directions and speeds. Up around Portland, the winds are stronger and blowing to the east and northeast. All of this is subject to change at any time, as high and low pressure fronts move in off the Pacific.
http://hint.fm/wind/

 

[LERCA]

@Travelaround unless you have lived through a fire I mean been in a home that burned down (And I ran back 3 times to try and save my dog) you can’t begin to imagine the terror. The heat, the smell,the blinding smoke, the possibility of explosion and as long as these pieces of human excrement refuse to evacuate the firefighters have to try and get them out. So these moron are endangering the lives of highly trained valuable firefighters. I think if a person does not have dementia, mental illness or is developmentally disabled they should be left.

After the fire I went back and talked to the firefighters who came to our home. They said most get lung cancer and die young. Or have bad COPD. My lungs are permanently messed up and I’ve never smoked.

My nurse friend who worked on the burn ward said it was mostly firefighters. These guys are trying to save hundreds of thousands of lives and property and people who refuse to evacuate make it ten times worse.

 

[travelaround]

Yes.. I don't have a lot of respect for people refusing to evacuate. I imagine one of the worst aspects of a deputy's job is picking up burnt human remains. So far there are 2 bodies found and I heard 10 people are missing. Can't blame deputies for wanting everyone to leave.

I heard now all who stayed are not allowed out of their homes or they'll be arrested. Maybe that's how they got 9 accused of being looters here in such a tiny town. I didn't think we had that many who steal.

 

[Qxxx]

You probably really don't want to be there, as the map shows the fire on 3 sides of the town and only the town center looks free.
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/7173/
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/photos/CAKNF/2020-09-08-2340-Slater/picts/2020_09_12-09.56.43.954-CDT.jpeg

 

[travelaround]

Yes.. but they've been doing mop up around Happy Camp so it is not a hotspot in that fire. The fire came as close as 1/4 mile to the main part of town a few nights ago but our fire fighters built a line around the store, post office and New 49ers. They did their best to protect the town. My home was in a neighborhood north of town called the Meadows. Maybe 7 to 10 homes survived. If you go to Happy Camp Christian Fellowship's website, the pastor posted a link to a video of what's left there. My homesite is just 2 sites before he gets to his house.. there is still a carport standing but thats all and the mobile home was behind that, well away from the road. He's getting clothes for a fellow ambulance driver... Charlie, whose home was directly across the street from mine. Also decimated.

 

[maki2]

Things are noisy here today with racing going on. But that means that there are some people who are out doing exactly what they really love to do with their day.

Today was the first day since I started nomad life that I was wishing I had a good friend to sit down and have a coffee and conversation visit. I suppose I am mostly surprised it has taken 6 weeks until I felt that way. I would like to join up with a caravan(s) this year to make new friends who are living the same way.

I do have neighbors here at the camp groun and have had conversations with some.  But most of them are hooked into the ThousandvTrails membership and just show up here for the time period they have to leave the nearby Trails system RV parks.
 
One of the items arriving in my mail on Monday is a keyboard I can use with my phone and tablet. That ought to help reduce the typos in my postings.

 

[bullfrog]

I imagine you could set out a few of you miniature sets and you would have a crowd in no time. Just make sure you maintain social distancing with a table or something.

 

[desert_sailing]

 
One of the items arriving in my mail on Monday is a keyboard I can use with my phone and tablet. That ought to help reduce the typos in my postings.

I actually like your typos... they have a certain ring of authenticity to them. You are soo good at sooo much technical stuff.. I was pleased to know you weren't a cyborg.

I was curious if you don't  mind but what are these "kits" I keep hearing about?