willstrickland Posted June 30, 2004 Posted June 30, 2004 There are 60 active wildfires burning up here now. 13 have crews working them. The smoke plume is larger than the state of Texas. Visibility from my office window is about 1/4mi. At least I'm finished with my field work for the week. Normal particulate levels are around 5-15 ug/m3. Yesterday at noon (when it was not nearly as smoky in F'banks) the particulates were over 1000 ug/m3. Carbon monoxide levels were well above the EPA safety standards. It is MUCH worse today. Around 600,000 acres are active and we've had over 900,000 burn this season (including the current 600k). You literally can't even see the sun today, and there is no cloud-cover only smoke. Yesterday you could barely make out the crimson red ball of the sun. Everything smells like a campfire. Asthmatics are showing up in the hospitals left and right, and we've had 20-30mph wind gusts pushing the 75,000 acre Boundary fire..and the smoke southwest toward F-banks. There are also the Taylor fire at 250,000 acres and the Camp Creek fire 25,000 acres sending smoke our way. The leading edge of the closest fire (Boundary fire) is about 50 miles out right now. It went from 20,000 acres to 75,000 acres yesterday in strong winds. The Steese Hwy has been closed, residents of Chatanika have been evacuating over the last day. This shit is nuts. There is no relief in sight. We've had no rain for over two weeks and none expected anytime soon. My car has a nice coating of ash, eyes are burning , sore throat, coughing. All the youth sports are cancelled, they had to fly the fire tanker planes to places outside Fairbanks so they wouldn't get grounded due to visibility. I would post a pic but all you would see is white-out conditions. Some people are loosing their homes right now so pray, cross your fingers, channel good vibes...whatever your method might be .The consolation is that it's sparsely populated up here, unless it reaches the city. I have never seen anything like this in my life. Quote
specialed Posted June 30, 2004 Posted June 30, 2004 Sucky. Thats what life was like in Montana, summer of 2000. All of the public land was closed and visibility was about 1 block. All you could do was drink. Quote
sketchfest Posted June 30, 2004 Posted June 30, 2004 Here, check this out, http://209.193.47.141/index4.html these pics are constantly updated. I have a crew working at Wainwright. Quote
dberdinka Posted June 30, 2004 Posted June 30, 2004 Sorry to hear that. Walking through the forest in the north cascades last weekend it's scary how dry to underbrush and moss is. I hope this isn't our year to burn on the westside. Quote
Dru Posted July 1, 2004 Posted July 1, 2004 there are currently over 200 fires burning in bc and close to 200 lightning strikes a day Quote
Dru Posted July 1, 2004 Posted July 1, 2004 correction There are currently 427 wildfires burning in B.C. as of right now Quote
willstrickland Posted July 1, 2004 Author Posted July 1, 2004 Getting closer. Chatanika was evacuated last night and Chena Hot Springs, Haystack and Bear's Den got the call to get outta dodge this afternoon. The fires to our northeast have advanced 10-15 miles in one day and are within 40 miles. Wind was gusting to 30mph over the ridges at mid-day, winds will stay 10-20 at least through tomorrow. It's looking grim for alot of people. Winds are blowing it right at us. If it advances another 15 miles in the next 24hrs, I'm going to start packing in anticipation of hauling ass outta here. Quote
Dru Posted July 1, 2004 Posted July 1, 2004 ...nothin that the black man can use to earn burn alaska burn Quote
EWolfe Posted July 1, 2004 Posted July 1, 2004 ...nothin that the black man can use to earn burn alaska burn Yer bein stoopid, tonight Dru. Quote
cj001f Posted July 1, 2004 Posted July 1, 2004 How about PUBLIC MORON foo ? Dude, you were in Elementary School when they were popular! Hit me Going, going, gone Now I dialed 911 a long time ago Don't you see how late they're reactin' They only come and they come when they wanna So get the morgue embalm the goner They don't care 'cause they stay paid anyway They teach ya like an ace they can't be betrayed I know you stumble with no use people If your life is on the line they you're dead today Late comings with the late comin' stretcher That's a body bag in disguise y'all betcha I call 'em body snatchers quick they come to fetch ya? With an autopsy ambulance just to dissect ya They are the kings 'cause they swing amputation Lose your arms, your legs to them it's compilation I can prove it to you watch the rotation It all adds up to a funky situation So get up get, get get down 911 is a joke in yo town Get up, get, get, get down Late 911 wears the late crown 911 is a joke Everyday they don't never come correct You can ask my man right here with the broken neck He's a witness to the job never bein' done He would've been in full in 8 9-11 Was a joke 'cause they always jokin' They the token to your life when it's croakin' They need to be in a pawn shop on a 911 is a joke we don't want 'em I call a cab 'cause a cab will come quicker The doctors huddle up and call a flea flicker The reason that I say that 'cause they Flick you off like fleas They be laughin' at ya while you're crawlin' on your knees And to the strength so go the length Thinkin' you are first when you really are tenth You better wake up and smell the real flavor Cause 911 is a fake life saver So get up, get, get get down 911 is a joke in yo town Get up, get, get, get down Late 911 wears the late crown Ow, ow 911 is a joke Quote
icegirl Posted July 1, 2004 Posted July 1, 2004 will, I can teach you how to sleep out of 4 duffel bags and a tent... It's all about organization... black duffle= clothes blue duffle= ice climbing gear red duffle= rock climbing gear green duffle= scuba crap (emerald sea) surround sound, tv, dogs, etc... I'm camped under a railroad crossing sign... really (okay, the room used to be my ex's model train room, so I've got a full sized railroad crossing sign over my thermarest) Quote
bunglehead Posted July 1, 2004 Posted July 1, 2004 Big time bummer about the fires, Will. Sounds scary. I hope you guys up there get out of it okay. Quote
Bronco Posted July 1, 2004 Posted July 1, 2004 Will: When we built our cabin in Montana, we cut our own logs. I figured about 100 would be right and about 2 hours after cutting my last tree, a thunderstorm lit up the ridge four miles from our place. Nothing but mature (dry as tinder) lodgepole pine between it and us and it was slowly heading our direction. Sheriff came by to let us know that if we were staying, we needed to keep out stuff packed and in the trucks. Once the desicion is made to run, just go, don't try to grab other stuff. He said he wouldn't be back and it was up to us to decide to leave. The women packed the stuff and me and my friend hauled ass to get as much work done as we could. My uncle showed up at some point to join the fun. We had a laptop and could stay abreast of the forecasts as well as the fire updates. A couple days later the fire got to within three miles of our place, had consumed 40,000 acres and the neighbors were all gone with the windows boarded up. Occasionally FS trucks would go by but, nobody stopped. I guess they had more important stuff to do and figured we'd take care of ourselves. Realizing the if the winds picked up, it could easily push that fire down to us in 10 minutes, I decided it would be a good idea to get out of there. There was ash and little black cinders coming down everywhere. Ignoring the sheriffs advice to "just go" when it was time, I tried to get things cleaned up and organized, construction materials in what I figured was a protective position. The rental place was telling me that if the fork lift burned, I'd be responsible. The women were driving me crazy telling me every five minutes that we needed to leave but, something in the back of my head (stubborness) was telling me to ignore them and keep going. I had several thousand dollars worth of timber on the ground and I was doing what I could to protect it. All of a sudden, I noticed the smoke was a little thinner and I wasn't being snowed on by ash anymore. Within half an hour, we realized the winds had shifted. Unfortunatly, it shifted sideways and kept burning for another 10 days. The fire eventually burned 65,000 acres and sadly, claimed the lives of 2 fire fighters and a helo pilot. RIP dudes. We finsished the exterior walls and got the metal roof on before we left. I figured if I could handle the stress of building a home with a wild fire (and my wife) breathing down my neck, I could handle just about anything. The terrorist attacks on the World Trade Center a couple days later changed that attitude pretty quick. Good luck. Quote
arlen Posted July 1, 2004 Posted July 1, 2004 Come on smoke Won't you rise and curl To the top of this hill Where the cool breeze spills Now that it's dusk Someone drive them off the street Let the pavements cool Come on now So come on love And lay your body down, next to mine 'Cause what we're longing for has withered in the light Come on darkness Lay your body down on us We've been calling you for so long now We're weary of your name Come on blackness Let me breathe you in 'Cause with this clattering and din we are calling you Brother, have you got a smoke Or baby, have you got a dime Seems like we're all a little down on our luck Well pay me if you're workin' now out in Bakersfield At some honky-tonk they call the Wagon Wheel You feel swept and you feel rolled away So come on darkness, I need you today Come on blackness, let me breathe you in 'Cause with this clattering and din I am calling you Come on darkness Quote
ClimbingH Posted July 3, 2004 Posted July 3, 2004 Looks like last October down here in San Diego. Quote
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