Face the fires?

[Readyy2go]

Hello! We are planning an extended trip from il. North to fish in minnesota, then west to washington state, taking in the sites to oregon coast and then southern trip back. Are we stupid for even thinking of trying this given the fires and smoke? Flatlanders need advice please! We COULD just go north and fishfishfish🤷*♀️

[arcaguy]

The whole country west of the Mississippi is not burning, only relatively small parts of it. Go and enjoy your trip, just plan ahead so you don't plan on going somewhere that is on fire and have an alternative. One more thing, watch those toothy critters in the lakes in Minnesota, they hurt for a week if they get one in ya!

[Cooperhawk]

Originally Posted by arcaguy

One more thing, watch those toothy critters in the lakes in Minnesota, they hurt for a week if they get one in ya!

Yup, he's talking about Northern Pike or Walleye. I learned as a kid not to get my finger near their razor sharp teeth.


Normally after Labor Day the kids go back to school and everyone goes home from the lakes. Not this year I guess. Make sure to have reservations.

[jacwjames]

There are some resources available to help monitor the areas you will be traveling to. We've used these before, especially when we did the western states, Canada, and Alaska trip in 2009.



https://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/nfn.htm


https://www.fireweatheravalanche.org/fire/


Once you've learn to maneuver through the sites they are valuable resources.



While in Alaska we dodged wild fires the entire trip. Once we got to Fairbanks they actually shut down all highway in and out briefly due to fires. The ash falling from the sky looked like snow and cut visibility to ~500 ft. We had to run the AC's just to filter out the smoke smell, with me getting up about every hour spraying the AC filters to try and capture the smell. Ah Memories.

[MSHappyCampers]

I wouldn't want to travel anywhere in California right now!

[Jake21]

Originally Posted by MSHappyCampers

I wouldn't want to travel anywhere in California right now!

Really? Why? It is lovely in SoCal near the water.

[BillJinOR]

Millions of people are doing fine ( as fine as is possible ) in California and the rest of the west. Like everything the news makes the fires sound like they cover the entire state. They don’t . They did the same in Oregon when we lived there. It’s very easy in most cases to avoid the problem area. Along the coast your normally getting fresh ocean air anyway.

[RVPioneer]

Oregon raised fees at state campgrounds 30% for non-residents and some of our mosquitos carry West Nile Virus. On a positive note, they did catch the guy who was shooting cars on I-5 for the past few months.

Have a nice trip.

[Lt Dan]

I will relate our experience with Washington state, Oregon and northern California. We were there three years ago at this exact time (Mid August to late September). We put up with smoke from numerous fires in all three states for the five weeks we were on the road. The coastal areas were beautiful, but in the interior areas there were fires and smoke everywhere. The Lake Tahoe and Yosemite photos were on fairly clear days. If we ever get the opportunity to go back to Oregon it will not be in late Summer.

[GuyG]

Originally Posted by Lt Dan

I will relate our experience with Washington state, Oregon and northern California. We were there three years ago at this exact time (Mid August to late September). We put up with smoke from numerous fires in all three states for the five weeks we were on the road. The coastal areas were beautiful, but in the interior areas there were fires and smoke everywhere. The Lake Tahoe and Yosemite photos were on fairly clear days. If we ever get the opportunity to go back to Oregon it will not be in late Summer.

Pretty much had the same experience two years running (we skipped last year). Took different routes from Oklahoma to Oregon two years in a row and had the same smoky experience both times.

[PKI]

Originally Posted by Readyy2go

-- snip -- We COULD just go north and fishfishfish

Go fishing locally. Spend those tourist $s to keep your local business viable. Wear a mask, practice social distancing and limit/eliminate your outside contact to reduce the spread of C19. You can make a difference.

[HopsBrewster]

Despite the horrendous total acres burning at this time, the west is a big place. A lot depends on what you hope to find here. If you expect to see all the grand vistas, you will want to keep a close eye on the NWS smoke maps and each state's fire maps, updated daily.
A week ago, I drove home from 10 days in Yellowstone NP. The first half of my trip was clear and no wildfire smoke. The scond half was very smoky, and the smoke coverage was thick and continuous on the drive home from southern Montana to northern Utah, where it finally began to thin out.
The actual fires are pretty easy to avoid if you pay attention to the fire maps. But due to smoke, fire season ain't necessarily the best time to visit here, but if you don't care about the vistas and only want to fish and see local sights, c'mon out.

[azSkier]

Reporting in from sun valley. Been here a week, getting smoke from California. Not awful nor anything near as bad as 2017. Been hiking And mountain biking. Will be traveling north to Couer D'Alene next week.

You can't predict the future nor the weather. Move forward with your trip and adjust accordingly.

[Old-Biscuit]

OVER 650 wildfires have been raging across California - burning through 1.2 MILLION acres of land, while destroying homes and precious forestry.

CA Gov has declared 'state of emergency'


WHY had to the Chaos and become part of the problem,,,,,,there are enough CA Residents that don't listen