Yesterday, just south of the Oregon border at Happy Camp CA a forest fire was reported at 150 acres, almost immediately the town was ordered evacuated, which is strange, the original fire was reported to be about 12 air miles away. This morning they are reporting the fire "exploded to 22,000 acres"....I have never heard anything like that in my life. Hoping it is a misprint. I don't know much about terrorists or demons, but I do know a little about steep country and heavy timber, and the sparse info provided defies credibility that high winds or not, I have never heard of a fire blowing up that fast downslope during the day. We shall see.
It all depends on the dryness of the fuels, humidity levels and wind speed. Several years ago the Stouts Creek fire burned six miles in six hours in steep, timbered country. It started six miles south of us, but burned south and not north. During critical fire times, we go on alert when a fire is within 15 miles of us. We are in that situation today.
