Fire In The Sky

Fire In The Sky
Originally uploaded by Thorpeland

I walked out of work yesterday evening and thought our city was on fire! There was a haze of smoke in the skies and the smell of smoke. Yet I didn't hear any sirens. As I drove home, the smoke and smell was still there. It was odd because the fire seemed to be everywhere, but no where. What was going on??

Well I get home and turn on the news. Top story of the evening is large wildfires on the far west counties of Ft. Worth, burning out of control. This was a good 40 miles west of Denton. So the smoke must have been thick to darken the skies over here! It was even covering the skies down in Dallas. News choppers and weather cams were showing the darkened skies.

Later that evening I went out in the backyard to play with Zita. I looked up at the setting sun and couldn't believe the view I had. I ran back in, grabbed my camera and ran back outside. I started snapping away as the sun seemed to set rapidly. I finally got a shot that accurately looked like what I was seeing. Which is this one. This seemed to be where the sun was passing low through the thickest part of the smoke and ash to the west. The skies lit up a bright orange. You could look directly at the sun without any discomfort. (Still not a good idea im sure) But, it was pretty cool. Later that evening while I was still outside, I noticed small bits falling from the sky. When i looked closer and caught one... it was ash! Blowing East, miles from the fires.

Very interesting evening.