More smoke

Somewhat dated; I have been out of town. But from last Saturday.

Our local fire is not too bad.

The fire is now 75% contained and at 45,000 acres. That’s a big burn area, but on the whole, we’ve been lucky with this one. It was not a particularly hot fire.

On the other hand, looking east:

The merged Hermits Peak/Calf Canyon fire is just 40% contained and has burned over 300,000 acres.

Hermits Peak started as a controlled burn. Which was started in bone-dry weather during our windy season. If there’s a good reason for that, I’ve not yet heard a convincing explanation. The forest obviously burns well that time of year, but that’s kind of the problem, no? Are there good reasons why controlled burns aren’t timed for when there is less potential for explosive growth? I can imagine there might be, but I’d like to hear what they are.