18 June 2011

Just Another Smoky Sunset

Sunset over Magdalena through the Wallow Fire smoke plume, June 2011
Out here in western New Mexico it is still hot, windy, dusty, smoky... Last night I kept looking outside at the deep red sunset and thinking, gee, I should get my tripod, but I was too lazy. So tonight I was prepared, and I'm glad I made the effort (which really was minimal) because the wind and smoke pretty much kept me inside today. The Wallow Fire in eastern Arizona is up to half a million acres but is now almost 40% contained, even with moderately high winds this weekend, thanks to the absolutely heroic efforts of the 4000 firefighters and others working to tame this beast. It's still raging, for sure; people in the western New Mexico town of Luna have just been ordered to evacuate because the Wallow Fire jumped a hard-won containment line in that area. Several fires have cropped up within New Mexico, too, including a fast-growing wildfire northeast of Santa Fe (downwind of that beautiful city, thankfully, but nonetheless nerve-rattling), which is leading to restrictions and closures of National Forest areas such as the Sandia Mountain Wilderness in and east of Albuquerque.

Rain, please.

2 comments:

Natasha said...

The sunset. Beauty through tragedy. The skit needs to open up.

stregata said...

Stay safe, Anna. Gorgeous photos, but the rest scares me to...