The Jerusalem Fire

This is the "smaller" of two fires that burned recently about 60 miles north of Santa Rosa, on whose northern outskirts we live. The Rocky Fire made national news. It started July 29 and burned almost 70,000 acres (109 sq miles), then just as it was mostly out, on August 9, another one started just south of it and burned 25,000 acres. (That's 150 square miles total, half the size of New York City.) It was partially contained by burning up to the already-burned areas from the Rocky Fire.

We were flying our small plane up to the desert of SE Oregon to do some astrophotography during the Persied meteor shower and had to skirt the restricted airspace near the fire. I managed a few grab shots through a plexi window, far from ideal, and in midday light with smoky skies. Just thought this might be of some interest. This is the third day of the fire. It's spotty because most of what is in between the burning areas has already burned.

They need a new designation to complement National Forest: National Scrub Brush Regrowth Region.

I assume these fires were not what our Rural Fire Brigades call preventative back-burning in Australia, but man made?
Sheeesh! That's some fires!
Our bushfire season is already starting and the local authorities are dreading the conditions. Currently near me there are a number
of back-burning operations underway and I've seen huge clouds of smoke billowing out of the Blue Mountains west of Sydney as a result.
I can only hope that with the near spring conditions most wildlife will find a way to escape the flames and smoke.

The Rocky Fire was accidental, but haven't heard the cause -- 43 residences, 53 outbuildings and 8 structures (whatever that means) destroyed. The Jerusalem Fire was started when a gas water heater malfunctioned. It destroyed 6 residences and 21 outbuildings. Many others are currently burning up and down California, Oregon and Washington in tinder-dry conditions from 4 years of unprecedented drought and heat. Some started by dry lightning. There is a complex of adjacent fires about half the size of these two (so far) in eastern Washington state. From the news, it sounds like an entire small town burned.

My husband left today heading east in an antique airplane for a series of fly-ins and visibility from smoke was just above flying minimums all the way across Nevada. It was also marginal when he returned from one in central Oregon a couple of weeks ago.

Contrast this with horrible floods that have been going on all spring and summer in the eastern half of the country, with unprecedented heat almost everywhere.


We often see some spectacular fires down there on our news -- our fervent hopes for some good luck with the coming season. The climate seems out of control everywhere.

That's some impressive smoke there. My older brother is a wildland firefighter up in Idaho. No shortage of work for him there with this fire season!

Our local one was a fourth the size of the Okanogan Fire in eastern Washington -- the largest in the state's history at over 400 sq miles and still growing. They think it will burn until the winter rains come -- IF they come. (The forecast is for the El Nino ocean currents to dump a monsoon on southern CA and leave the north dry.) Firefighters from as far away as Australia are coming in to help fight it.

We got a massive fire season ahead of us. Who knows what devastation will occur in our southern land this coming summer.
Fingers crossed you guys get lots of rain Diane!

The same wishes for you guys down there! Preferably NOW, not after the fires when the denuded hillsides will turn into mudslides. We expect that to happen around Los Angeles this winter if the winter rains develop to their expected potential.

The fire complex in eastern Oregon is still burning, over 400 square miles and less than 20% contained. The smoke is so thick it is preventing effective aerial firefighting. My husband barely had enough visibility to fly a "low and slow" open-cockpit plane through Nevada, Utah and Montana, 500 miles from the fires, and people could smell the smoke when he got to Wichita, KS, almost 1300 miles from the fires.