I'm in Southern Oregon - about 40 miles from the fires. You think the smoke is bad there? It's miserable here. I can hardly see the mountains on the other side of the valley. And everything smells like smoke. I hope that they can get those fires out soon. About 10 years ago we had weeks of this awful smoke.

Oh, rats. I hadn't heard of the Oregon fires...I've been waiting out a trip to Mammoth Lakes CA because it is inundated with smoke from a fire in the Sierras. Figured I'd head to southern Oregon when it starts to clear and hang out around Crater Lake until it's safe to proceed to Mammoth. At 7,900 ft, I was already worried about being able to breathe... the smoke will make it impossible. Now I'll have to figure out another strategy if there is too much smoke in Oregon, too. I suppose it's just a matter of time before something breaks out in western WA.

Anyway, I hope it clears for all of you in OR and CA very soon.

Oh, no! Hope this is over quickly!

Smoke travels. It's not often felt as bad closer. We are getting it big time.

The town my brother lives in (about 30 miles north of Terriks) is really being hit hard. He showed photos and it looks like it's foggy- but it's smoke. The air quality is so bad that all outdoor activities have been cancelled.

There have been a bunch of fires in that area, lightening strikes and dry, dry weather, so the air quality is really bad. This is a photo a friend sent me, taken this afternoon. Up where I am (northern part of Oregon) we haven't had any problems.

This post was edited by pesky1 on Tue, Jul 30, 13 at 1:17

Pesky what town is that? I'm trying to plan a route to Mammoth, avoiding the smoke as much as possible. Amazing photo, but makes me choke up just looking at it. Ugh.

Oh dear. How awful. Fires are not usually a problem our way, but I do remember a few decades ago hanging laundry on the line and wondering why the air smelled so bad....turned out to be smoke from forest fires in W. Va.

Climate experts say we will be seeing more of these as the earth gets hotter and drier.

That's in Merlin. Anywhere on 1-5 south of Roseburg is going to be a big mess. You might be better off going out thru Klamath Falls-but I'm not sure how bad that is down there. I'd guess that Mammoth is getting quite a bit of smoke, if Gold is getting it. Might want to wait a couple weeks.

Thanks Pesky - it's by this weekend, or never, so I'm hoping for a change of weather and the fires to be under control (not just for me but for everyone affected). It may just be a doomed trip, but my friend just had a baby and I want to go meet him. They are checking with the doc today if they should take him someplace with less smoke, so I might be able to meet them at Lake Tahoe or elsewhere. Ugh.

The smoke is worse today :(

Here's a picture from a few years ago looking out from our deck:

Here's the same view today:

Terriks, that is what our air looks like. You can see smoke on the lawn. I have a view less propery now. I'm used to seeing the Buttes and Mt Lasson. Not happening now.