Wildfires in southeast VA, Smoke clouds as far as Baltimore... Rating Options

[Automan2000]

Wildfires in the Great Dismal Swamp are continuing to spread.

The story is that a thunderstorm that rolled through on Aug. 4th sparked off a wildfire in the Dismal Swamp. The fires quickly moved to the underground peat layers where they are out of reach for fire crews. Despite the best efforts the fires are still spreading and with no rain in the forecast there is no telling how long this will go on.

This isn't the first swamp fire that I have seen but it is one of the worst. The smoke today was getting so thick a times that it was hard to see even moderate distances. Even now as I am sitting inside my house all I can smell is smoke and I am almost 50 miles from the fires. So far, I haven't seen any reports of human casualties and the fire is still within the wildlife refuge so no homes are being threatened. There is a lot of concern for the welfare of the animals within the refuge.

This is a pic I snapped while I was at work earlier today. It doesn't really do it justice but the haziness you can see is due to all the smoke.
(IMG:http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w90/reddragon2426/th_smoke.jpg)

and this was at a time when it looked like it was getting better.

It would be really nice to be able to breathe normally again. (IMG:style_emoticons/default/icon-screamer.gif)

This post has been edited by Automan2000: Aug 13 2011, 03:19 PM

[DrSpengler]

We just got pounded with a very heavy downpour this afternoon here in Northern VA, but I guess none of that moisture is going to make it all the way down to Southern VA.

[Ironbite]

NOVA and SOVA might as well be in two different parts of the world.

Ironbite-man that sucks.

[Automan2000]

I wish we would get some of that rain. Last I heard they were saying that we would need at least six inches to smother all the hot spots.

[Automan2000]

Some of the latest news. is showing that residents as far as Baltimore are experiencing heavy smoke clouds.

The fire itself is now up to 6000 acres and is being reported as the largest fire ever to burn in the Great Dismal Swamp refuge.

The last few days the air around here has been pretty clear. The wind has shifted and appears to be sending the smoke to the north.

This post has been edited by Automan2000: Aug 13 2011, 03:24 PM

[DrSpengler]

Baltimore? Really?

It's raining up here in Fairfax county today, so I couldn't see smoke even if it were in the sky. The past few days have been clear blue skies, though.

[Automan2000]

Well we had a couple of clear days but after the some rainstorms today the smoke came back worse than ever.

(IMG:http://i174.photobucket.com/albums/w90/reddragon2426/smoke2.jpg)

This looked just like a foggy night except we don't have the conditions for fog. This is really becoming a serious public health problem and I don't know what can really be done about it.