FIRE !!!

While wandering we became curious because of the strange looking clouds ahead of us. We were traveling through southern Utah on our way home and the clouds just didn't look right. After living in Missouri and Oklahoma you become attuned to the sky and weather. Although I've never been through a tornado I seem to have been surrounded by them growing up. They would crop up in the summer and really raise hell on the communities they struck. The temperature drops, humidity rises, the clouds turn a grey green yellow color and birds seem to take off. It's not a good feeling.But these clouds were somehow different. The higher ones were whispy and below them there was a ball of white which was getting bigger. We couldn't figure it out. Karen was the first to speculate that we were approaching a fire. Didn't seem right to me and we continued to drive. After twenty to thirty miles it became evident that it was a fire and as we passed it I took a shot to document it for my blog.

The weather started to turn also the further east we got. Storm clouds were on the horizon and cars approaching us had their headlights on...a few had water peeling off their cars. We pulled into a gas station to see if anyone had heard anything about what was ahead and as we were standing there a trucker rode in from the east. I walked to his cab and asked him about the ride into the truck stop and he said that it was the worst wind he had ever encountered and his 90,000 pound truck was being tossed around the road. The water was pouring in sheets. He was ready to stop for a while.

We stuck around for awhile and the storm did pass and we resumed out trip. After a 19 hour drive we arrived home to hear that the forest fire we saw was at 5,000 acres and have since it heard that its is out of control and covers 30,000 acres and has consumed residences and approaching several towns.
I just don't know how that type of fire could be fought with any effectiveness. The news also said that it was accidentally started by a man using a propane torch to burn weeds on his property. Huge lapse of good sense. I've just started to edit images form the trip and I will display them as I get them done. Business is very good so please realize that business is always first. Images on the way as time allows.

Happy Fourth of July by the way....