The Rim Fire near Yosemite has created a lot of smoke which is being blown into the Carson Tahoe area. Colors are dead. There are no shadows. Worst of all is the almost hazardous air. You can't be outside and not have the smoke seep into your sinuses, throat, and clothes. During the first few days we would have soot gently sprinkling down. It stinks and stings. My two kids are getting sick from it. Not only are they emotionally and mentally stressed from being cooped up indoors all day but they are also getting physically sick. My younger boy has red irritate droopy eyes from the smoke and the older one got so sick that he is vomiting. Yep, it's pretty bad.

My wife and I get small respites when the kids are either asleep or stabilized for the moment. It's time to recount the day and try shooting some pictures. Here was today's work.



Our sunsets have been pretty rosy and serve as the highlight of the day since it's one of the few times in the entire day we get some dramatic color. I shot that with a Mir 1B 37mm lens and did a little post processing to bring out the color.

[scratchpaddy]

Sorry to hear about your troubles. I hope things get better for you and your kids soon.

Thanks for sharing the beauty, though. Removed from the smoke and ash, it's very nice to look at. Those inverse mountain shadows in the smoke are like nothing I've ever seen before.

[slowpez]

I hope they get that fire under control soon. It is so devastating to read about and I can't image what people who live near it are going through. Quite a dramatic shot you have captured.

[paulh]

As the others have said, quite a beautiful shot of an unfortunate event. Hope it eases up soon - thanks for sharing.

[daacon]

Wow that's tragic hope the winds and rain clear it up fo you soon. Nice shot.

[6BQ5]

Thanks for the notes!

I also wanted to share a satellite view of the smoke pattern coming from the Rim Fire. The picture comes from NASA's website. It's dated Aug 22nd but it gives you an idea of just how big this fire is. I hope posting this picture doesn't break any forum rules.



You can see Lake Tahoe divided by the CA-NV border near the center of the picture. We live a bit to the east of that, right where the smoke gets really thick! There are some communities that are even further east from Lake Tahoe who have it much worse.

You may also notice another fire burning west of Lake Tahoe. That one is called the American Fire.