Bad summer air quality is the new normal. Though you wouldn’t know it from the above pic of Flash, following his mares last night to water.
I love those clouds. I love that (relative) lack of smoke! Looking south.
The Ferris Fire has burned 62,915.6 acres as of Thursday night and is 19 percent contained. From Watch Duty’s 6:33 p.m. report by Regional Captain Adam Johnson:
“Crews worked to build containment today, especially in the lower Dolores River Canyon along Forest Roads 504 and 521, utilizing strategic firing operation along more than a mile of road.
“Fire behavior moderated throughout the fire area as winds laid down and humidity was higher in the morning after rain showers yesterday.
“Hot shot crews worked directly along the fire’s edge on the portion of the fire near Benchmark Lookout. That area has been relatively calm for several days. [I’ll second that; I saw just one tiny little smoke below Benchmark from Spring Creek Basin yesterday. I could see swaths of red retardant across the trees and land around it even from the basin.]
“The weather forecast for the coming days shows hotter and drier conditions with humidity as low as 6% and a potential increase in fire activity, per Ferris Fire Information on Facebook.”
There are nearly 660 people fighting the Ferris Fire currently. Gigantic and heartfelt gratitude to each and every one of them!
Gaia at sunset, walking away from water following her band.
OK, so we still have smoke in the air. … But that’s not a bad sunset, all things considered.
Colorado Gov. Jared Polis declared a disaster emergency in response to the Ferris Fire. Note that the photo captions in the linked article are wrong (at least as of my viewing); we’re actually in southwestern Colorado. Also, as a recovering journalist who worked in Colorado and was involved in the coverage of at least a few fires, I capitalize the f in fire when it’s a named fire: Ferris Fire, not Ferris fire. That’s a journalist-nerd note, but I see it in articles both ways, and this is to explain why I capitalize it.
Spring Creek Basin Mustangs 
Those photos could make one believe things are actually “normal” again. Beautiful shots, TJ, including flashy Flash, flashing his good looks and pretty Gaia! Just wish things were “normal.” Very high temps and non-existent humidity coming. Where in heck is this super monsoon thing everyone is talking about. We wait…and we wait.
I’m very afraid that “normal” is a thing of the past, except in small tidbits like yesterday. This morning, it was beautifully clear here, but by even 8-9 a.m., and definitely by 10:30 a.m., the smoke was creeping over the south ridgeline and settling in drainages and on into the valley. It doesn’t *look* super smoky right now, but it sure smells smoky. … I know, the rain was needed, like, last year! We need it BADLY … no lightning, please!
You’re right, TJ. “Normal” has been in absentia for years when it comes to summer monsoon season.
Definitely not my favorite summer.
No. Nor mine. 😦
Hopefully they will get the fires under control soon! Praying for that to happen! The pictures are great!
So glad we had that little respite before the air starts cooking again.
I saw that there was a procession for Emily Barker in Michigan … yesterday? 😦
A lot of local firefighters turned out to honor her! He parents said she died doing what she loved to do!
A terrible tragedy to lose all three (not ignoring the two injured at the same time). 😦