We've been having strange weather. Because of storms in other areas, we've had thunder/lightning showers for the past few days - over 150 lightning strikes resulting in numerous fires. The major highway out of our area Hwy 199, has been closed for over 24 hours. Have been trying to get updates all day. Apparently the fire has grown to over 4,000 acres. The Smith River Complex Fire with 13 different fires.
Pics from the internet today:
Hwy 199 with debris from the fire
Feb this year
They have no idea when the road will open again. I just got notification 20 minutes ago, that my area is now on Level 1 evacuation alert (get ready). An opportunity to prioritize what is important and what is not. And right now it is still much better than the Level 2 evacuation alert (be ready to evacuate) we received in 2020 from the Slater Fire which consumed 157,000+ acres. And while there is some ash on our vehicles, the sky looks overcast instead of being very red and eerie looking as it did in 2020.