Wildfires in the Cascades

OK, it's time to jump into the fray, into the thick of it. No deep breathing allowed until we get past Sacramento. Burning, weeping eyes. It smells like we're inside a really big BBQ pit. We can't even see most of the Cascades. Are we in Armageddon yet? The smoke made vast black walls behind the clouds above Crater Lake.

There were hellacious thunderclaps in Klamath Falls the other night, and it railed all the way to Weed, enough to leave puddles in parking lots. Last night's thunderstorm cleared the air somewhat. We were stuck a couple of days in Klamath Falls, getting a windshield fixed. Not much to to there. Some cool old Art Deco buildings downtown, an old car dealership with frescos in the style of King Tut, but this is no Luxor, the town has been eviscerated.

I was shocked to discover that there are no falls in Klamath Falls.The entire Lower Klamath Lake has been drained. You can see the levees. I had no idea that the entirety of the Trinity River Complex, a major contributor to the Klamath River, is almost all diverted, and all within my lifetime—to sell alfalfa hay to the UAE, and China. So much for the Klamath River salmon run. No place for them to go. Meanwhile, the drought continues unabated. Wildfires have become the norm. This is not good. A thirsty earth, angry wildfires. The name of the future is upon us.

My. Shasta hiding behind a veil of smoke.

I did not clean my cover photo up with auto contrast so you could see how thick the smoke really is. It got worse by late afternoon. How thick was the smoke? Can you even see Shasta looming dead ahead in this photo? We're at the Hwy  99 overlook. It's mid-day, around 2 PM.

And this is only the Northern California fires....

Home again, jiggity-jig. Never thought I'd say the air is so much better in the Bay Area than in Northern California....the smoke was MUCH worse as we headed south into Weed, Shasta and especially Dunsmuir and Redding, it was almost like twilight with smoke, though the clock said 3PM. Highway 97 goes right past Shasta, and we could barely see it. Smoke was thick as knives as we neared Davis, from Lake County fire. It was like a brown cloud roof over us, the sun glowed like a strange pumpkin. A portent of things to come.

Added 8/19, from Facebook posts