Sugarloaf Fire Aftermath

Last week residents of the Hat Creek Valley area near Lassen Volcanic National Park were "treated" to a series of wildfires which ultimately destroyed 11,269 acres. It is called the Sugarloaf Fire. Yesterday, as my brother and I were driving back to Medford, Oregon, on Highway 44 near the Highway 89 junction, we went to the overlook, which had been reopened although the area surrounding it was charred. Fire crews were still in the area as of yesterday. This is the overlook where, on a clear day, people can see both Lassen Peak and Mount Shasta. I took some pictures of the devastation and also have included a picture of Mount Shasta from the vista point near McCloud.

More Miscellaneous News.

Some dumb shits are vying for the Darwin Awards by trying to climb the "nose" of El Capitan in the fastest time.

They aren't alone; my landlord tried to enter the Darwin Awards contest almost two years ago in this hair-raising ride to and from Yosemite that I recounted in excruciating detail on the blog.
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The haze may leave town today.
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O.J. Simpson continues to walk around with a prosecution complex.
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A CBS reporter covered Iraq by day and was covered by night:

Passions got so hot in the combat zone that one of her lovers, Joe Burkett, brawled in a Baghdad "safe house" with her other paramour, CNN war reporter Michael Ware, a source said.

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Thank God we have the likelihood of a Fritzl trial to keep us occupied instead of the disaster of the upcoming general election campaign.

Miscellaneous News.

There are about 850 fires in northern California, and the smoke is still horrible here in the Truckee Meadows.

I planned to go out hiking today, but now I am not sure that's a good idea.
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Larry Sinclair believes the Obama camp engaged in dirty tricks to get him arrested rather than some rogue bloggers doing the job.


Somebody is in deep trouble over the false arrest if Sinclair's charges are true.
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Thanks to a bunch of California fires bringing smoke to the Truckee Meadows, the air is almost unbearably bad. I shouldn't even say "almost." The air here is as bad as I have ever seen it. I do admit, though, the sun looks good through the smoke.





Of course the sun is actually an orange fireball behind the smoke, but the way it photographs without special effects is still rather striking.

I took this rather crude video of the smoke a little while ago: