Just returned from a trip to Albuquerque to the Aquarium and Zoo; My wife & I went up with our daughter & our grandson. Had a great time.
Lot of smoke in the air when we got there Tuesday; nice blue skies yesterday, smoke back last night. On the way down I-25 today, there was a lot of smoke to the west of the Rio Grande and the Mountain Range. But by the time we got to T or C and Hatch, most smoke was gone. Blue skies in Las Cruces. If the Wallow fire moves much more to the east and northeast, the El Paso Electric power lines from the Palo Verde Nuke Power Plant maybe be cut, if so Las Cruces and surrounding areas may have rolling black outs from it. Actually two power lines are in the the way. One line is within 5 miles of the fire which carries 10% of El Paso Electric supply down here, the other is 15 miles from the fire & carries 50% of the power supply down here. But we will not be in danger of loosing our home or worse. It is a sad time up there in a extremely scenic area. We had driven through that area last July. Such a shame.
With so much of the forests either closed due to fire danger or the area such as Santa Fe maybe be smoked choked, I am not sure when we will get to go camping anywhere close. But again, this is such a mild inconvenience: compare to those in the path of the fires, I am ashamed to even mention it.
Never though of taking a photo of the smoky atmosphere when there. Due to the limited space in the
Scamp, we didn't take it. Our daughter rented a TCF from Air Force Inns at Kirkland AFB, a nice 3 bedroom duplex with full kitchen (dish washer, washer & dryer,
microwave, etc.), pet friendly, small fenced yard. Extremely nice. Very comfy. The backyard faced the FamCamp, but couldn't see much of it. I didn't take any pics.
I-25 has about 5 places where road construction has the speed dropping down, dropping to one lane, but it is paved, not dirt. Not too bad of a drive. This is between Albuquerque & Las Cruces.
Wow, is the desert brown now all the way up there. I have never seen it dryer. Nothing green except the mesquite scrubs and trees; grass and creosote looks dead. Not sure if it is just the extreme dryness or if the creosote were hurt by the extreme cold we had gotten last winter. Extremely dreary looking.
Towns Evacuate as Out of Control Wallow Fire Grows, Christian News
Arizona Wallow Fire May Hit Power Lines, Cause Blackouts - ABC News
Wallow Fire Becomes Third Largest in Arizona History - ABC News