Home Forums Hunting & Shooting Hunter's Campfire Smoke

Sitting here in north Idaho. Below is the normal view of the Selkirk's.



Todays view.



You can smell it and taste it at the moment. Winds (maybe rain) are supposed to move it by tomorrow eve. There are a couple fires a couple of ridges to the west. We headed over to Thompson Falls for an estate sale today and the smoke was terrible due to the Thorn Creek fire near there.

It's bad. Does Canada have fires? Or is this from the Oregon fires?

Sure MT and the ND got it too.

It has been the same way down here in Colorado

We're getting plenty of smoke this summer too.

Lots of fires in WA and ID, not to mention MT, sending smoke generally to the east.

Ugh. That’s horrible. We get a little (comparatively) smoke here all the way over here in Michigan. Stay safe man

Pretty much the same here in Bozeman, We usually can see the Bridgers from the kitchen window but it's just that hazy nothingness in OP's second picture now.

Smoke half way across SD today. MT is on fire.
Across Canyon Ferry from our place, upper Duck Cr I think.

Same here near Helena--but just corresponded with a friend in Minnesota, and it's much the same there, due to fires in southern Canada.

I hope somehow the whole darn thing doesn't go!

We have all of August to go.

We had some smoke haze here in southern Iowa. A few rain sprinkles sure made outside vehicles dirty.

All the fires are east of us this year for once. We haven't had smoke and I am so thankful.

And September, October...



Other than breathing the chit I actually kinda like the smoke haze.

Keeps the sun off. And makes for some really neat sunrises.

Heavy smoke in Minnesota. Headed west August 20th, SD, ND, MT, ID, CA maybe AZ, UT, WY . But going to have to look soon and see whats possible

We have a number of "out of control" fires in BC...........Can't even go outside ffs, glad I'm not working right now.

Yeah, it's bad in N. Idaho. I'm along I-90. Today right in front of my place a huge double prop Sikorsky landed in the river with a fill tube next to the interstate. Amazing site to see it go down with traffic and such so close.

We're surrounded by a 413K acre fire to the north 100 miles or so. A 244K acre one about that far to the SW, and another one (almost contained) of 105K acres to our SE about 100 miles in the that direction.

And a few smaller ones. Today I can see the plateau 10 miles away, not to mention the Butte 5 miles away. We have a remnant volcanic rock pile that sticks up from the valley floor 1/4 mile from the house that I couldn't see the other day.

Some wind, clouds, and misty rain have helped. Not to mention that whopping 0.01" we got the other day

I feel for you folks getting it now, but we had our smoke for a couple of weeks it seems. No matter which way the wind blow, there was a fire over there somewhere.
A week ago, and that's the color of the light in the sky that day. Range of hill one can just make out is about 1/2 mile away, so this wasn't the worst day.



Stay safe.

Geno, looks a weird eclipse.

New fires seem to pop up and nobody can see them because of the smoke. Not sure, but 4 fires were started by people in the last week, they were quickly put out by locals, pretty fishy.

Yep, last 2-3 weekends have been pretty hazy here.

Those near us were started by 11 lightening strikes a few weeks ago. They resulted in 6 fires with 4 out and two growing.

Had it in Fargo the last 3 days. Couldn't see 400 yards in places on Thursday.

We ventured back out to our dry land hay project today.

I spent over an hour fine tuning the sickle. Fire fighters were out checking my little mishap and gave a big wave as they passed by. I'm sure they were happy to see we now have a water tank and pump on one of the F350's.


The guys combining have big disks and tractors close and handy.


Got a couple hundred acres to go and don't want a repeat.

for nearly a week Sammo.

no sunrises, no sunsets. Just a glow:

"Sunrise" about the same day as the other pic. Sun is right above the tree in the middle:



Sunset a day before or so.. The "rock pile" I mentioned is on the right hand side of the pic. +/- 1/4 mile from my back porch.

Not having a generator to run our well pump is pretty darn short-sighted.

Last summer I had the electrician come out and put a transfer switch on the well house, then went to Harbor Freight and got a generator big enough to run the well. I figured between the wood stove in winter and the propane/charcoal stoves and grills the only thing we really needed was water.

Good investment.

Should I send him North?

And it's not even August yet. Can barely see the outline of the mountains five miles east, the smoke is affecting how hot it gets because it's pretty thick. But as long as I can see the mountains even a little, it's not officially "unhealthy." But I hate it nonetheless. If this was "industry" causing such pollution, wrecking resources, there would be howling hordes. But because the watermelons have deemed wildfires "natural" and "good" -- Orwell was right.

I was working at about the end of Rapid Lightening Rd when that storm went through. I called one of those strikes into IDL when I saw the plum rise above the ridge.

We have to stay for 3 hour fire watch after we stop working, then I get to drive an hour 1 1/4 home. Makes for a long day.

Glad I've moved closer to home now.

Had a fire start 100 yards from my job Thursday. They hit it hard, one single rotor, one twin rotor, a retardant bomber, and 3 float planes.

They got it knocked down fast.

Same here in the Bitterroot.

Taken minutes ago it has crested the ridge looking off of the front porch. For years this spot held the last snow, a glacier if you will, until July. We have the valuables ready to go if needed.

Haze the last two days in Iowa.

Ruh roh Ed

I am well up Rapid Lightening Road, off of High Road.

It came over the ridge? Must be looking SE from your place.

I was left past Trapper creek, past the homes and then the 1st left, through the gates a few miles.

Yes, SE.

IDL, Sandpoint Fire Warden phone number: 208-659-5635
IDL CDA wildfire 208-772-3283

Just in case you don't have the numbers handy.

Fire info available at this site.
https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/?state=13

You can see what air support is flying on this site.
https://www.flightradar24.com/


Stay safe....

What's the name of that fire Ed?

And good to have the valuables ready to go, especially you, the wife and the dog.

1:00 in the morning and watching the ash falling down.
Lots of smoke.

Haven't had any real indication of smoke here.
But the weatherman claims some of the weird
bright/overcast days, and the exceptionally vivid
sunrise and sunsets, are the result of those fires.


Hope you all get some rain.
From Alberta to Arizona.

We got your smoke here in the North Carolina mountains. Very hazy yesterday. It looks like smoke but doesn't smell like smoke. Weird that the smoke would travel 2,000 miles.

The entire western US and Canada is loaded with wildland fires and smoke, including the new fires in the Big Belt Mountains shown in MtnBoomer's pic. Here's a link to a great website that shows the location of wildfire, smoke plumes and fine particulate matter (PM2.5) monitoring sites across the USA: Wildland Fire and Smoke Map If you zoom in on the map, you'll get an appreciation for the concentration of smoke moving across North America from the thousands and thousands of wildland fires burning across most of the Rocky Mountain West in Canada and the USA.

Wait till a few hundred nukes pepper planet earth. Going to get dusty.

I've been waiting on that for sixty years. I remember the Cuban Missle Crisis, I was 11 years old, my mom driving us back from football practice, and the guy on the radio news in the car saying, more or less, "Kennedy has announced a blockade. Pretty good chance a nuclear war will begin tomorrow." And I thought it would.
Somehow, we have never had one, much to my surprise. I bet there will be some gorgeous sunsets after the nuclear war, but nobody home to see them.

Parts;
Morning to you sir, I hear it's worse up where you are than down here - if that's even a possibility?

For the rest of the folks, we're located directly west of the Thomas Creek fire - it was maybe a bit less than a kilometer from our place on the first and second day.

https://www.castanet.net/news/Penti...0-hectares-up-to-10-000-in-just-24-hours

Then about a week after that this lit up just south of us and has surpassed the first one in size.

https://www.castanet.net/news/Penti...re-grows-to-13-000-hectares-BCWS-mapping

It's tough walking some mornings as it does make it difficult to breath.

When we drove into Penticton on the grocery run yesterday we couldn't see across Skaha, which is a pretty narrow lake as you know Parts.

We're at the narrowest place in the entire Okanagan Valley here and I can't see the other side as I type, so visibility is maybe 500 meters?

Stay safe all, it's already been an interesting summer and it's only now August which was traditionally the bad month.

Dwayne

We have smoke down here on the Gulf Coast too.

https://fire.airnow.gov/

A bit of rain on the coast yesterday morning (nothing signficant) and spitting this morning so hopefully it is headed east where they could use any help. Cooler though so I guess there is the chance of more lightning to go with it. Going to make hunting a real challenge this fall, if there is anywhere left that isn't burnt up.

The jetstream brought it to eastern nc a few days last week. Hazy and could smell it.

Hope everyone out west gets a break soon.

Its been bad. Would be nice to see blue sky's again

Good luck with it all.

Looks like most of Montana.

mostly fires in Montana in the Thompson Falls area and over by Wallace ID. affecting N ID
ID


Of course there are fires throughout WA, MT, ID, BC, OR

Yep.

I was working south of Poplar, Brockton area, north and south of 201. Its F’ing sickening how dry it is.

With all those acres of crops, pastures and grass lands if a fire gets started on a windy day, it’s going to be bad.

I wonder what are effects of the smoke on various crops?

Unseasonably cool and rainy in Texas. Time to summer in Texas and winter in Idaho?

With all the fires around home and the California fires, we have had smoke for well over a month! Yesterday the wife and I drove halfway around the Bootleg fire! Some is pocket burnt, other areas are moonscape looking! I haven't been on a fire in 40 + years, when they pulled logging and mill workers to fight fire! I give lots of respect to fire fighters who walk, where the devil dances!

673:
Morning my friend, I hope you're all doing as well as you can despite the going's on.

It could always get worse - yesterday morning just as my good wife got up the power went out in much of the south valley - so no coffee...

I mean, we've got camping coffee makers and all that, but we'd just decided to wander up to Penticton with our daughter for coffee and some Tim's breakfast something when the power came back on at her place. Since we were there and she's a wee bit of a coffee snob, she treated us to a wonderful cup of coffee!

Here's a link I found that broadly addresses how plants react to smoke.

https://eos.org/research-spotlights/wildfire-smoke-boosts-photosynthetic-efficiency

When we had that big fire in Kelowna and the Vaseux fire at the same time, there was talk among the wine makers that it was going to maybe be a bad year for whites, but as it turned out they weren't able to really tell the difference.

This year is worse for sure as far as the number of days we're socked in, so we'll see.

Even with screens on the windows, when we open the house up at night everything is covered in fine ash.

Ah well, keeps me out of mischief cleaning the place up!

It's not like I'm going up the mountain scouting in these conditions or anything.

All the best to you all this August long weekend.

Dwayne

We stay down on the river bottom when it's windy.

Way too scary up here where I am right now to be working in the wind.

We had it pretty good on the KP this summer. Cooler and a bit more rain than recent years.

2019 was record heat and drought. That was the year of the Swan lake fire. It got bad enough there were pilot cars through the smoke on the highway. 20 yard visibility. Then, pilot cars were necessary to travel through the roadside flames. Don’t miss that.

Been Smokey here in NE Alberta, sounds like several forest fires burning in BC from the southern edge up into the interior. Very dry summer across western Canada. Quite disappointing currently cutting my wheat for green feed , as it was droughted out . Under 4” of rain since may. Last year at this time we had over 20” of rain . Friggin tinderbox

My son is working on the Mud Lick fire just west of Salmon Idaho. He has been gone a month tomorrow. Worked the trail creek fire in Montana just before this one. Got one 48 hour break in between fires. The Wildlands guys are plenty busy this year for sure. Good luck Ed, I hope your place stays safe.

Heym, shortly after graduating from high school in 1965, I lived in Weyerhaeuser’s Camp 9, which was located east of Sycan Marsh near Pole Butte. Two years ago, I spent a week camping in Bly and just walking a lot of the country that is now impacted by the Bootleg fire. (Note-it does not take a great deal to entertain an old forester).

I have viewed a lot of the USFS photos of this fire, and I am not surprised by your observations. I believe what you saw will be consistent over the entire foot print of this fire. On some acres the fire probably did some good, and on other acres it was hot enough that it will take decades for the land to heal. I hope in the future I can get back in this country again and see for myself how things look-it should be interesting.

Big Belt Mountains. A lot more burning than I had imagined. Looks to be laid down for now. Crappy pic, no charge, from the homestead. Several miles away with a mile or more of water between us.

Had an evac alert come up on the phone over at Park County on the way through.

EdM: It indeed has been a smokey past 25 - 30 days here in the Rocky Mountain west!
But today I can see further (8 - 9 miles!) than I have seen for nearly a month.
Some days the smoke is rated as "UNHEALTHY FOR ALL" and visibility on those days has been .7 to 1 mile!
Some more rain is due here this afternoon and I am hoping that will put an end to this murky, unhealthy, stinky, misery fest for air that we have been breathing all this time.
Pray for rain.
Hold into the wind
VarmintGuy

View of the southern Belt Mtns from the house this afternoon. Haven't been able to see them for the last couple weeks, for the smoke.

Wildfire Burning Along Flathead Lake Shore

Residents on Flathead Lake east of Polson were ordered to evacuate early Sunday morning as a wildfire in the Mission Mountains crossed Montana 35 and burned multiple structures.

According to the Finley Point-Yellow Bay Fire Department, shifting winds pushed the Boulder 2700 Fire west toward the lake and south from mile marker 10 where it crossed the highway. The fire was estimated at 1,150 acres on Sunday afternoon.

The evacuation order affects all of Finley Point and the Skidoo Lane area, and homes from mile marker 6 to marker 12.

Power was shut off as a precaution from mile marker 6 to Yellow Bay, and in the Finley Point area. The fire department warned that evacuations are possible for residents south of mile marker 6.

Residents who already left the area were told to put a sock on the door knob and a pillow case over the mailbox so emergency responders know the home is vacated.

We branded today.

Grandma brought news of the fire....with lunch.


Sounds sporty Jeff.

This is the average sight around sunset for the last couple months. I haven't ee the Beartooth Mtns. from home for that long also.
A lot of the days you can smell the smoke.

Geeze, that really shows the extent. From DuckCr north. I sure didn't expect to see it that low. I will have to check out the inciweb.

Goodness, looks like about eight fires within 30-40 miles.

It's heading toward Big Fork Jim.

So them luxury lake front homes aren't immune of wildfire.

Here's a little sample of some Finley Point homes.








5 bed room 7 baths 9,410 sqft
32304 N Finley Point Rd, Polson, MT 59860
Sold on 09/04/20 $6,042,300


This on has it's own vineyard

31542 N Finley Point Rd, $2,560,900

We could sell the farm and buy a house!

But then we'd get bored fishing all day...

lol



Jim, how'd branding go?

Assume you started early.

Nice and warm out there now.

Looks like it has burned down to the Confederate Gulch creek/road. Not sure if it has crossed or not.

You could probably get a great deal on one of those today Sam.

Here's the western MT / N ID fire detection satellite shot from 3PM local time today.

https://fsapps.nwcg.gov/afm/data/activefiremaps/nrw2021213_1500.jpg

Summer cabins on the lake.

Seen much for air support on the Woods Fire?

Geeze. 14000+ acres already.

Wood River Valley...

Saw a couple helicopters with water bags working it yesterday. Drove down Rt 284 to do some rubber-necking.

Gosh, a guy could build so much more than this with that kind of money. Hillside SOB. No pole barn? Shooting range? WTF?

That Bootleg Fire in south central Oregon is in some darned cool country and over 400,000 acres now. Elk, mule deer, bighorns...

Monsoon rains have pushed all the smoke away inmost of Utah....

Just today we got chased off the mountain by a big mean SOB'in T/storm

Thunder rumblin' right now on the farm........

Ain't had these kind of storms in a L O N G time.....

Thanks Shane. Hope they stop it before it gets to the secret shooting spot!

Geeze Idaho has a bunch!

Yeah no kidding...but if it burns off, I won't have to worry about starting a fire....grin.

Seriously though, I hope structures, crops, and livestock are not lost.

Update from above driving home...

Rez fires trouble my heart less than others. Until they threaten non Rez land.

Smoke is gone now. Be Well, RZ.

We were back up in the hills today haying.


Dust devil went across my old fire burn and kicked a bunch of ash into the air. I was behind a little hill and couldn't tell what was going on.

Looked like another fresh fire, heart was racing for a minute.


I really feel for you guys who are literally out in the woods and possibly in harms way.

Seriously spooky deal.

Good luck men.

The boys and I are road tripping through Northeast Urth, and wondering about the current smoke/fire conditions in eastern Oregon and southwestern ID. It’s not bad here in Modoc county at present, but who knows when the wind direction can shift. Present objective is the Burns OR area today, but we’re flexible, and decent air and small creek fishing opportunities are the priority, not any one particular spot on the map. Any guidance would be greatly appreciated.

I just listen to the daily briefing for the Bootleg Fire. The Forest Supervisor announced that several hunting districts will remain closed to public access throughout this coming hunting season. If you were planning on hunting on the Fremont-Winema National Forest this year, you may want to listen to the Supervisor’s presentation in today’s briefing.