Saturday July 27th 2019

The smoke in the area from the Milepost 97 fire fifty miles to the north shifted away from this area Friday night. This morning the haze was much lighter and higher up. The sky directly above looked blue not gray and the smell of wood smoke was not present. It didn’t last all day, but it was nice while it lasted.

The fire is now over 9,000 acres. Responsibility for fighting the fire has been transitioned from the local county firefighters to a state response team. They are settling in for a long fight. Baring a very favorable wet weather system lingering over the area, they are looking at thirty days or more to get the fire controlled. This is definitely fire season. Several other small fires have been reported in the area today. One was along the side of Interstate 5 about three miles south of my campsite. It was controlled and put out in a few hours.

Late this morning I went for another hike in the Valley of the Rogue State Park. The trail along the river is an easy hike with nice views of rapids and calm sections of the Rogue River. Last Saturday there were lots of people rafting and kayaking in the river. Today I didn’t see anyone on the water. It might be concern for the smoke or just my bad timing since there were cars with trailers at the boat launch. I still enjoyed the exercise and the scenic river.

Late this afternoon the wind or other steering currents brought the smoke back to the valley. The smell of burning wood, hazy fog like conditions and a very red sun were the dominant characteristics. Eventually I retreated inside my RV home with the AC on.