Given that background blurb, you might imagine what went through my mind Wednesday afternoon. Here is a (very) short photo essay.
At first blush, this strange formation to the east looks something like an unusual cloud layer. It's brown but that's not unusual. Airborne dust particles tend to taint the color of the clouds, especially following strong winds (which we had Tuesday).
Glancing around, it became apparent that the "clouds" I had first spotted were not clouds at all. They were a plume of sorts.
Yup, those aren't clouds. They're moving. Actually, they aren't moving; they're billowing! Heavens. I'm fresh out of marshmallows, too.
As it turns out, I heard (a rumor) that the fire was apparently the result of a controlled burn. While it's roughly the same sort of iconic irony as military intelligence, the Forest Service has had a few successful controlled burns in the area. Chief among such successful burns, and perhaps the most famous, was the controlled burn that started the Los Alamos fire of May 11, 2000. Ah, what comforting thoughts... I hope the rest of you have had a more normal week.
