The Smoke & Fires

murphey

murphey

Touchdown! Greaser!
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murphey
I know that California is going thru a terrible time right now, particularly the northern areas. My cousin lives in Richmond, not far from Berkeley. He's got serious bronchial problems (industrial accident many years ago) that is causing even more problems. Doors and windows closed, air conditioner on (he almost never uses it, living 100 yd from the water), air cleaner on, and so on.

In Colorado, the smoke from fires in California and Utah and ours, too, means visibility on the east side of the mountains (aka the Front Range) stinks. Literally and figuratively. I considered flying today, to play with the GoPro. I'm based at Front Range (aka KCFO) which is 5 nm from DIA (KDEN class B). Even on the ground, I can see the terminal and the tower at DIA. Not today. Which means visibility on the ground is less than 5 miles. Definitely not a good day to make movies.

Did some cleaning up around the hangar, hugged the cherokee and came home. I don't think early morning flights will be any better.
 
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Taken yesterday evening. The smoke is from a fire on Point Reyes. At least the smoke wasn't down to ground level at this particular time. I know the AQ is much worse further inland.

Screen Shot 2020-08-22 at 13.09.56.png
 
I live north east of Reno and visibility here has been under 1 mile for days.
 
It's really bad here.

This fire incident map is from yesterday morning and the mandatory evacuation area just west of Santa Rosa has gotten worse with more areas evacuated. East of Santa Rosa in Napa and Solano Counties it's also bad. I live in Oakmont near Kenwood and my plane is based at STS. I just finished walking my golden retriever a few minutes ago and it's hard to breathe outside. Now there's a red alert for high winds and dry lightning starting this evening and lasting until Monday night.

These are the same conditions that started all the lightning fires burning now.
Sonoma County Fires med 21 Aug 20 0630.jpg
 
Bad in the Bay Area. IMC due to smoke. I try not to fly in this hell but sometimes I have to. I strap on an N95 and go IFR. For AG strips/non instrument approach field destinations I just don't go. I tried that smoke scud running a couple years ago with the AG boys who go regardless but when it's hard smoke to the ground that's not a risk I need to take. This is the new norm in late summer to fall. Smoke IMC. Gotta find the smoke layer and get above if you can, or stay below. Unless you have iron lungs.
 
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We lived in Napa back in the late 1970s. There was some land in the hills to the east that we looked at. It burned a couple years ago. I can only imagine what the viz is now. Fortunately it is great here for now.
 
We can’t see ten miles out on the prairie.

ISP has a message on their support sure that says the smoke in Pueblo has cut off one of their microwave backbones. That’s really really on the edge if it did that and not much path margin.
 
Looks like I’m getting called up to fight fires...


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Finally got a couple days off from California. It's just a first class mess. Did see a bunch of fire trucks heading south on I-5 this morning about to cross over into Cali, so help's coming. I'll be back Tuesday fixing helis again.
 
Rats. I finally get some free time, early-ish morning it’s cool-ish (7:30 am, 71 deg) and the whole area is MVFR due to haze.

@$@*$*$&$@,!
 
You guys in California are sure smokin' us up here in northwest New Mexico....

But it makes for some awesome sunsets.!!
 
Murphey,
We have plans to stay at Shelter Cove (0Q5) this week, any idea if we flew high enough, 16,000? we could get over the smoke? I guess I'm asking the fire cloud tops. We're flying from Los Angeles. The webcams at Shelter Cove look clear enough.
-Craig
 
I was on top at 9000' the other day on a trip from Napa to SoCal. Obviously the tops can change day to day. A couple years ago, I was returning from Oregon during that bad fire season and couldn't get on top at 13500'
 
South of Silicon Valley yesterday afternoon on highway 101. 100 yards away from E16 San Martin. Converted this CTAF airport to temporary tower controlled for refueling and changing helicopter crews.

19BC86D2-B482-49B6-B451-4241D7D8CA1F.jpeg
 
Vince45 said:
I was on top at 9000' the other day on a trip from Napa to SoCal. Obviously the tops can change day to day. A couple years ago, I was returning from Oregon during that bad fire season and couldn't get on top at 13500'
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Thanks Vince. I had the same experience flying back from Oregon the day of the eclipse in 2017.
 
93B47A89-8A40-44B8-887B-EBB8FFD4BBF4.jpeg Highway 17 in the Santa Cruz mountains near Bolder Creek, in-land form evacuated Felton & Ben Lomond.
 
Smoke is scary to fly through, just because of its uniformity...at least clouds have distinct layers most of the time. I was going from Cable to Fallbrook a couple years ago (VFR) when a fire was raging in Lake Elsinore. I thought I was far enough away to skirt it, but it just got so murky I decided to pull a 180 and return to the home field.
 
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