In A Fog...or Smog

It's amazing what you can learn new everyday! I am working on a lab for my Meteorology class due tomorrow. It is about fog....all 14 kinds of fog....who knew? I always thought fog was fog!

Around here recently, we are more concerned with smog or just plain smoke. We have a major forest fire burning out of control in Fourmile Canyon over in Boulder County about 2 hours from here. It has already consumed over 7100 acres of forestry and 194 homes in the past three days. The residual effects for the rest of us in the state is the breathing problem from the heavy dense smoke which is blowing everywhere. It is very difficult to fight this fire as it is burning in a canyon with almost impossible access from the ground. Many people out here like to live up in the mountains because of its serenity and beauty. However, it isn't so pleasant at times like this...especially when access roads are closed. Over 3500 people have been evacuated and 4 people haven't been accounted for yet. Some people refuse to leave their homes and pets and think they can tough it out,but that can be disastrous if the wind changes directions. We currently have firefighters here from all over the state and from other states like Montana helping with this disaster. We have many airplanes being used to spread fire repellents to try and cut down the tree-top flames. Our governor has declared Colorado a state of emergency. All schools in the Boulder area are closed either due to the fire or the smoke. We haven't had a drop of rain in Colorado in over 3 months and everything is tinder dry. With the high gusty winds we have, it makes for a dangerous situation. I think we have had one thunderstorm all summer.

This fire was started somewhere up in the canyon by a vehicle hitting a 100 pound propane tank which burst into flames.... and the rest is history.

I'm sure most of the firemen who have been keeping a 24-hour vigil up on the front lines of this fire are definitely in a fog about now. Hopefully, they will get the fire under control soon. Meanwhile, I will return to my own fog of completing this lab before bedtime.