Showing location of all the current "large incident" fires in the United States/NIFC |
Driving around the Northwest week before last, we were struck by the amount of smoke in the air. And got to see one substantial-size burn, south of I-84 in the Irrigon-Hermiston area. A hot summer, and dry around the region until the last few days, the fires have had little to tamp them down.
The latest run of showers around the western part of the Northwest seems to have helped. But not everywhere. The National Interagency Fire Center says fires now have become concentrated heavily around Idaho - this map certainly confirms as much. As does the Idaho governor's office, which has declared fire emergencies in five counties. Such emergency declarations aren't commonplace in Idaho.
As does the Spokesman-Review's Betsy Russell, on Boise's air quality at the moment.