July 30,2013. As I painted this view from Dunsmuir in northern California, layers of smoky haze filled the air. Smoke from multiple wildfires in southern Oregon reduced visibility like thick fog. I found it difficult to get a good deep breath as we traveled north.
The fires reflect a century of fire suppression and recent drought conditions. They are in rugged, hard-to-access territory. We learned that the 35,000+ acres will likely burn until autumn rains quench them. Another incidence of climate-change exacerbated conditions—more of the planet’s lungs (forest) giving up rather than sequestering carbon in the atmosphere.
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