Saw the plume for this fire from Hillsboro yesterday:

http://blog.oregonlive.com/breakingnews/2008/07/mount_adams_wildfire_grows_to.html

As it happens, my HH and I camped just 5 miles away from the fire at Morrisson Creek - attached a pic. Note the snow in the picture forefront - that's been my biggest frustration on this trip, many of the areas I want to backpack (Timberline tr, Sisters) are snowbound. :(

--Kurt

Just a quick aside - if you look at the picture carefully, just to the left of my HH you'll see an angled tree propped up by a log. I hadn't noticed the potential widowmaker when I set up my hammock. If the tree would have fallen during the night it would have crushed my knees.

I didn't really think it would fall, but rather than spend a sleepless night I ended up moving my HH to some trees about 30 feet behind where the picture was taken...

--Kurt

That fire is interesting in that although the fuels are relatively wet from a heavy snowpack winter and a wet spring, the fire is burning nevertheless from lots of bug killed trees on the ground, ladder fuels and wind. Or so I hear. Since so many ponderosa pine forests in the dry part of the Northwest are sick, diseased and unnaturally dense we'll probably see more of this type of wildfire. It'll be really bad when all that fuel dries out and is pushed by a wind.

Snowpack melt is about 2-3 weeks behind the 30 year average this year in many parts of the Cascades. A period of intense avalanche activity last winter deposited snow in some areas down to like 3500 feet. Some of that snow is still around!