Montana wildfires, not histo related

<< Previous Message | Next Message >>
From:Gayle Callis <uvsgc@msu.oscs.montana.edu>
To:Patsy.Ruegg@UCHSC.edu
Reply-To:
Content-Type:text/plain; charset=us-ascii

Dear folks,

Have had several inquiries about Montana wildfires, and here is the reply
to Patsy's question:

Yup!!  and the smoke is thick enough to cut, and certainly smell.  Some
fires aren't that far away, but we can't see the flames.  Roads into
Yellowstone from Tetons are closed, and there are restrictions on forest
recreational use.  I really feel for the wildlife, as for people who want
to build next to forest service land, they chose to take their chances -
something we decided against years ago when building a house.
Some of the first worst fires were man made, one an ATV with hot exhaust
pipes, the other from hot charcoal disposal, these fires burned many nice
homes! DUH!  Mother Nature can't be controlled i.e lightning.  

Harvesting grain off fields is a hazard, one spark and it goes into a Hades
mode, but worst of all are very fierce winds.  Had a great night two nights
ago, took a walk in clear skies, and at 9:30 pm, smelled smoke.  My husband
kept checking outside to see if the field was on fire after smelling smoke.
Visibility went to heavy fog mode within 15 to 20 minutes. Sun and moon are
red balls with moon totally disappearing at times. 

People are suffering from respiratory distress and headaches from ash
falling out of the sky.  What a mess, and hoping we are blessed with an
early wet winter, or even a few days of bucket pouring type rainstorms
without lightning.  Send it over from East Coast, PLEASE!  

This is the worst in 100 years, even Yellowstone back in the 80's was not
this bad for destruction of private property.  Had construction workers
start a field fire that blew towards our lab a few weeks ago with wind
driving it faster than one can imagine.  Scary thing to watch. 

If you are planning to drive to Montana for late vacation, change plans,
rivers are closed to fishing in some areas - too low and protecting wild
trout population plus you can't go into some areas for camping or under
restricted use rules.   

We will rise from the ashes like the Phoenix as did Yellowstone.

Enough of this non histo info.

 


At 09:19 AM 8/17/00 -0600, you wrote:
>Gayle,
>Are you burning up there in Montana?
>Patsy
>
>
Gayle Callis
Veterinary Molecular Biology
Montana State University
Bozeman MT 59717-3610
406 994-4705
406 994-4303



<< Previous Message | Next Message >>