2020 Fire/Smoke Impact Reports

[maverick]

Inyo NF:

[tie]

The resource link for Cal Fire, in the first post, doesn't seem to be working now.

My top resource has been

https://tools.airfire.org/websky/v1/#status

They give 72-hour smoke forecasts. I think the best model right now is the "CMAQ Modeled CA/NV 1.33-km" forecast, which runs once a day. There is another model that runs every 12 hours.

[SSSdave]

Many government agencies in this Internet era have an annoying habit of changing links frequently without bothering to provide URL redirection from older links. NWS is especially awful. This is the current Cal Fire state fire map page:

https://www.fire.ca.gov/incidents/

Obviously our Sierra Nevada skies will be increasingly affected. After my second backpack 2 weeks ago I pulled the plug on any more this month as everything is much too dry in the high country for aesthetic photography.

Here in the South Bay, we now have wildfire smoke affecting breathing. The several CZU complex lightning caused fires in the Santa Cruz Mtns have burned about 7,800 acres or 12+ square miles and isn't even mapped out due to lack of resources. There are increasing evacuations ongoing in that significantly populated zone. Another 8 mapped fires are burning to the east in the Hamilton Range. The only reason this is not yet huge news is along with the record heat for days, there is hardly any breeze all day and night in the region except close to the coast, so air is just becoming increasingly stale and smoky with inversion conditions. If we get wind these fires could blow up and become a huge disaster.

Today, Wednesday is another 95F forecast. Worse personally, my condo air conditioning has been non-functional that I have declined to fix because that is a $2k+ expense, that normally has not been much an issue just letting cool night air in each morning that is often in the low 60F's all summer. Now that won't work because it just lets in smokier air and this last week low temps have been 75F to 79F that is already warmer than the inside of my unit rises to each day normally.. Today am likely to fill the cooler with drinks, grab some books to read and drive down to the coast that at least by the shore parked in shade, that is cooler and not smoky.

[rlown]

might be time to fix your a/c..

[frozenintime]

pretty sure ritter and banner are back there somewhere (https://www.mammothmountain.com/cams/summit-cam):

mammothsmoke.png

:/

[SSSdave]

This arcgis satellite app map link also shows smoke information:

https://www.arcgis.com/home/webmap/view ... 6e907a1fc3#!

Our current fire situation in here in California may be the most widespread in my lifetime though minus the usual offshore winds, it is not yet as disastrous. Since I own an old Bionaire F-150 HEPA air purifier, have found that after opening windows/doors at dawn for an hour to let cool air in, that after closing them up, if I put on the F-150, air is noticeably fresher in just a half hour so not as bad as expected.

This is another acrgis map app that shows thermal imaged hot spots thus is the best indication of where fires have been burning and current intensities per last update. The app is for Solano County, however one can just enter a location in "Find address or place" field window upper left like with "Boulder Creek" and it will move elsewhere. Brothers that live in Vacaville are right on the edge of an evacuation zone with ash everywhere in their neighborhood. Huge area burning:

https://doitgis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/we ... 57576b8c47

[schmalz]

It seems like the whole state is blanketed with smoke now. I'll probably cancel any hiking plans for the next month unfortunately .

[windknot]

Yep, driving west on Hwy 108 across Sonora Pass yesterday afternoon felt like we were in a post-apocalyptic movie. I'm not even sure which fire was the primary source of the smoke there, but it was consistent for miles and at all elevations.

[c9h13no3]

It seems like the whole state is blanketed with smoke now. I'll probably cancel any hiking plans for the next month unfortunately .

North Coast is still good!

[rlown]

Where I live, it is about 2 mile visibility and acrid. Can't even get out and walk in this. full of melted plastic smell.
98 degrees and no wind doesn't help..
East of Elk Grove.