The Missoulian, September 27, 2009

The story I find most interesting this week continues to be the local wildfires, particularly the Kootenai Creek wildfire.  The Missoulian had two updates today, here and here.  I had been on a field trip yesterday; when returning along I-90 smoke from the Kootenai Creek fire was obvious in the Bitterroot Valley to the south:

Smoke from the Kootenai Creek fire.  View from I-90 E.  Downtown Missoula is just barely visible above the trees on the left side of the photo.  Stevensville, the town nearest the fire, is a little more than 30 miles from this vantage point.

When I got home I decided to go out and take a few pictures.  I traveled south on Route 93, which follows the Bitterroot Valley.

The view from Lolo, just south of Missoula.

As I got closer to Stevensville, the clear, blue sky was no longer visible.  What appears to be a cloudy or overcast sky is entirely smoke.  The plume of smoke continued from here across the valley to the east.  The mountains on the east side of the valley were either extremely hazy or entirely invisible.

I drove only a couple miles or so beyond this sign.  It was late, I was tired, and I didn't think I needed to see too much more.

I pulled off Route 93 to take this photo (below), and then I headed home.  Again, this fire was sparked by lightning in early July.  I can't imagine being one of the residents dealing with this.  When I stepped out of my car, it smelled like the biggest campfire ever.  Their hair and clothing, their homes, their cars - everything must be invaded by the burning smell.

The horses didn't seem to mind.  This photo was taken just south of Florence, about 3.5 miles north of Stevensville.

Pre-evacuation orders have been given, and some livestock have been moved, but there is no mandatory evacuation now.  As you'll see from the links above, firefighters are optimistic for the cooling weather and a shift in wind direction.