It seems that every summer I hear, "This summer is the worst wildfire season on record". And this summer is no exception. Wildfires are burning in all states across the southwest United States. Earlier this week, Utah Valley filled with smoke drifting in from the fires in California. In the latter half of the week, a fire erupted in the southeastern part of Utah County, near Scofield Reservoir. The California fires gave us a moderate haze, but the fires in Utah proper are now giving us choking smoke that penetrates all building structures, leaving us with health warnings and emergency alerts.

Sunsets are an odd event under these conditions. Of course we get the orange tinted skies like one would expect, but also, the sun becomes a glowing orb that actually records on the camera sensor. Another interesting aspect is that the sun doesn't set at the horizon. Because the smoke in the valley is so dense, the sun fades away to nothing about 5° to 7° above the horizon. The sky simply glows reddish orange overhead for the next 20 minutes.

There is a beauty to these conditions, but I think I would prefer not to enjoy it at the expense of our native forests. I hoped to photograph the Perseid Meteor shower this weekend. I may go out early tomorrow morning. The smoke in our area is quite deep however. Because of other commitments, I can't leave town. The best I can do is drive into the mountains near my home and maybe reach 8,000-9,000 feet in elevation. I'm not sure that will be enough to get me above the level of smoke. In any case, this is becoming our summer norm. I look forward to cooling temps and the return of monsoon storms.