CURRENTLY, A SMOKE HAZE AND ITS SMELL IS AT MY PLACE. [The fires are nowhere near us, but the smoke is blowing in on the wind.] As you may know, the west is in a severe drought, so dry and parched, and exacerbated by the windy conditions. Several fires burn in Oregon, as well as neighboring states, California and Washington, in particular. OTHER LINKS PROVIDED BELOW. I heard of the fire in the Columbia Gorge on last nights news: Near the community of Rowena, this fire also threatened The Dalles, As of Thursday morning, 275 households have been told to evacuate. ADDED LINK #1. Columbia Gorge fire: 275 households told to flee koin/2014/08/06/growing-wildfire-forcing-gorge-evacuations/ QUOTE--A new wildfire pushed by gusting winds is threatening the small Columbia River Gorge community of Rowena, where residents of 275 homes had been told to evacuate as of Wednesday night. Fire spokesman Dave Wells says the fire made a run along the river Wednesday evening. He says as smoke cleared, flames from the fire were visible from The Dalles, a city of about 14,000 that is about 6 miles from the blaze. Wells says an unknown number of residents in an outlying Dalles neighborhood were told to be ready to leave if necessary. [THIS IS NOT UPDATED TO TODAY.] ADDED LINK #2. Rowena Fire: More Than 2,600 Acres Burned, Flames Visible In The Dalles opb.org/news/article/rowena-fire-275-told-to-evacuate-flames-visible-in-the-dalles/ QUOTE--UPDATE 12:30 PM, August 7, 2014: Firefighters in the Columbia River Gorge say they’ve made progress against the Rowena blaze. Though hundreds of homes remain threatened, firefighters have established a bulldozer line around the perimeter. More than 2,600 acres have burned and the fire remains zero percent contained. Some residents who were under a mandatory evacuation since yesterday have been allowed to go home, but they’ve been warned to stay read to leave again if conditions change. Some 600 people have been displaced by the fire. ADDED LINK #3. Residents evacuate 275 homes ahead of Oregon wildfire foxnews/us/2014/08/07/residents-evacuate-275-homes-ahead-oregon-wildfire/ QUOTE (fires reported elsewhere in the region)--In all, there are 10 large fires in Oregon, with nearly 4,000 people fighting them across 143 square miles of timber and rangeland. The cost to date exceeds $36.7 million. The Northwest has been at Fire Preparedness Level 5 -- the top level -- since July 16, and the season still has a long way to go, said Tom Knappenberger, a spokesman at the federal interagency fire center in Portland. -- In Washington, fire spokesmen say a wildfire burning on the Colville Indian Reservation in the northeastern part of the state has scorched about 7,000 acres. Residents of about 25 homes have been told to evacuate in the face of the Devils Elbow Complex of three wildfires. Detected Sunday, those fires were likely ignited by lightning. Fire spokeswoman Karen Ripley said late Wednesday that no homes have burned. About 210 firefighters are attacking the flames. The Snag Canyon wildfire near Ellensburg in central Washington has grown to 6,400 acres and is being fought by about 450 firefighters. The Washington Incident Management Team reports that fire was started by lightning on Saturday and is burning through grass, brush and timber about 12 miles northwest of Ellensburg. The fire has destroyed eight homes. -- In California, light rain and an infusion of personnel and equipment from as far away as San Diego allowed fire crews to continue gaining momentum Wednesday on a pair of wildfires that exploded over the weekend in northern California and have burned more than 110 square miles, officials said. The two fires burning about 7 miles apart in Shasta and Lassen counties were among nine major wildfires that erupted in a 24-hour period last week, most sparked by lightning.Eight homes, a historic post office and a restaurant were lost in the smaller of the two fires that started in Lassen National Forest and threatened Burney, a town of about 3,000 people in Shasta County. An evacuation advisory for Burney was lifted on Tuesday. The spread of the second blaze had also slowed enough that people living in its path were allowed to return home on Tuesday afternoon.
Posted on: Thu, 07 Aug 2014 20:08:03 +0000