(Medford this week)
As July turned to August in Southern Oregon the hot but nice summer of 2013 ended with at least 6 large forest fires to the West and North West of Medford in Douglas and Josephine counties. Over 3000 firefighters have come from all over the United States to fight and some of the Oregon National Guard has been mobilized to help. The days of sitting out on my deck reading the morning paper and having my coffee in the cool early morning has come to an end. The West winds from the Oregon Coast have blown the smoke into the bowl of mountains that surround Medford and the Rogue Valley. It looks like a heavy fog outside all day but smells like smoke.They have canceled most outdoor events in Southern Oregon including the plays at the outdoor Elizabethan Theater of the Ashland Shakespearian Festival. We can smell the smoke in our house and office. There is no escaping it and the weather folks on the local TV stations say it is here to stay for the foreseeable future. None of the fires are under control and minimal fire lines have been established. It is common to see people walking around town with facemasks.
I have changed the filter on our home air conditioner at home and have put additional insulation around all outside doors. I read online that hot tea and chicken noodle soup is good to fight off the effects of the smoke so my wife made some soup for lunch and I am drinking tea as I type this. August may be the month of DVD and Blu Ray movies in the basement man cave. Sure wish we could get some rain but all we are getting are dry lightning storms which cause more fires.
How long till football!
