Smoke is pretty strong

Cyngbaeld · #1 04/15/11, 10:09 PM

I sure hope it is only from the big fires out west of here. Is anybody else, not close to the fires, smelling it?

greg273 · #2 04/15/11, 10:19 PM

Not here, but I noticed on the satellite photos from this afternoon the huge plumes of smoke coming out of west central Texas, before I heard about the fires I was wondering what the heck those were. Looks impressive, hope everything turns out alright for everyone out there. Gonna be a rough few days, we lived through a 100,000 acre fire in Colorado about ten years ago, its frightening and awesome at the same time.

Heres the link to the satellite image, its a composite animation, so it might take a while to load if anyones on dial-up. Not sure if it will direct you to a current image or the archived ones, but its worth a shot. The plumes are definitely visible in the daylight images.

http://www.goes.noaa.gov/GSSLOOPS/ecvs.html

JuliaAnn · #3 04/15/11, 10:49 PM

We're in the Big Thicket, and I started smelling it around 5 or 6 pm. Not a cloud in the sky all day, but a brown haze started this afternoon, and the smell of burning cedar. The moon isn't bright, has a brown haze in front of it. Can definitely smell it, even now, with the doors and windows open. I've closed about half of them and can still smell it, it's going to end up being one of those nauseating smells I think. DH has been sneezing his head off, and I'm going to end up nauseated and likely with a headache from it. Wind was from the northwest late this afternoon. Dear friend almost lost their home.

Cyngbaeld · #4 04/15/11, 11:09 PM

Yes, it is strong now. My asthma is acting up already. I have windows open too.

Bearfootfarm · #5 04/15/11, 11:56 PM

We had a big forest fire here a couple of years ago.

It was almost 150 miles from me, but there were days when visibility here was only 1/4 mile, and we could smell it for weeks

#6 04/16/11, 12:18 AM

Can definitely smell it here in Central Texas. I think I am closer than ya'll are, but I am still a good distance away, thankfully.

Belfrybat · #7 04/16/11, 07:57 AM

I'm further west than you and have been smelling the fires since Thursday evening. The first batch of ash was coming down from Rotan (120+ miles away). It ignited small fires in Abilene and north Coleman County (close to me). It was worse last evening with a haze and smell due to another fire 60 miles west of us. Plus I understand a large one is burning NE of here that is really strong. At this point, over 1,250,000. acres have burned in Texas -- the most ever in a single year. To put it in perspective, that is almost 2000 square miles -- the size of Delaware. And sadly, a firefighter lost his life yesterday.

fordy · #8 04/16/11, 02:25 PM

.............The smoke and haze are much less today with the wind having dissipated . I'm 10 miles SW of Ft. Worth off 377 and can't smell much smoke at all . Fires should much more controllable today vs. friday . Numerous houses have been lost over the last several days , hope they all had insurance but some won't . , fordy

Linda J · #9 04/16/11, 03:36 PM

Smoke and wind was bad yesterday. Not so bad today.

farmergirl · #10 04/16/11, 04:50 PM

I kept asking my DH last night if he could smell the smoke. I smelled it all night, but he couldn't.

arcticow · #11 04/16/11, 07:25 PM

Just read where an Eastland volunteer FF was killed. Their truck got caught by the fire, they abandoned it, and he fell into a ditch trying to get away... pronounced dead at the scene.

Cyngbaeld · #12 04/16/11, 11:17 PM

That is so sad. I hope nobody else dies from it.

Air was much clearer today after the wind shifted. I have a sore throat from it though.

mothernature · #13 04/17/11, 07:53 AM

Hope all the firefighters had a successful night! It's been non-stop work for them. Hope they all were safe last night and made some headway on the fires before the wind starts again today!!

praieri winds · #14 04/17/11, 10:04 AM

I have relatives at possum kingdom lake they are sort of surrounded by the fire but have not yet had to leave home so sorry for the loss of the brave firefighter

Cyngbaeld · #15 04/17/11, 10:17 AM

Hope they don't lose their homes! Fire always scares me. I have our BOBs packed and ready to go but I've also been clearing, mowing and watering around the house as much as I can to minimize the danger. I have the 1500 gal cistern full and try to keep the pond full. (It gets the gray water so that helps. The house has a metal roof and siding, but I still need to skirt it. I have 2x4 fencing around the bottom to keep critters out but no skirting.

JuliaAnn · #16 04/17/11, 06:30 PM

My dear friend and hubby at Possum Kingdom called here at about 12:15 pm and had finally been ordered to evacuate. They are on the east side of the lake. They are going to try to find a hotel in town.

Cyngbaeld · #17 04/17/11, 09:43 PM

Pray that the homes are saved.

Txsteader · #18 04/17/11, 10:10 PM

Can't really see or smell anything but something is causing a lot of people to have respiratory complaints here (Houston vicinity)....congestion, coughing, sneezing. It didn't dawn on me, until DH said he noticed a lot of cars around town covered in fine dust, that we might be breathing ash/smoke from the inland fires. Thankfully, the winds turned today, coming off the gulf again.

Praying for rain.

am1too · #19 04/17/11, 10:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Cyngbaeld

Hope they don't lose their homes! Fire always scares me. I have our BOBs packed and ready to go but I've also been clearing, mowing and watering around the house as much as I can to minimize the danger. I have the 1500 gal cistern full and try to keep the pond full. (It gets the gray water so that helps. The house has a metal roof and siding, but I still need to skirt it. I have 2x4 fencing around the bottom to keep critters out but no skirting.

This is why one doesn't have shrubs or trees close to the house in the country. Grass goes fast and short grass isn't much of a fire hazard. I was asked why cut trees close to the house? A pretty dumb one for a country person if you ask me. Shade is nice and even nicer when it is no threat to the house or out buildings. The plus is that grass does better in sunshine.

JuliaAnn · #20 04/17/11, 11:22 PM

Spoke to our friend, and for those who know the area, the fire has spread to much of the pennensula of the lake there, where most of the businesses and many homes are located. She is now only getting the news reports, same as everyone else. The Baptist church there burned in less than 30 minutes. Their home is about 1/4 mile from there. Million+ dollar homes in the Hell's Gate area are in danger. They still can't go back, roads still closed. This is going to devistate the local economy there, and I don't even want to think about what it is going to do to the deer population.