Where the Smoke is Coming From

The UDJ said the other day that the smoke hitting Ukiah is from Colusa, Glenn, and Lake Counties. However, I called the Air Quality folks and asked if the smoke was from the Yolla Bolly Complex -- since the wind was from the north -- and they said YES.

The Yolla Bolly complex straddles the border between Trinity and Tehama Counties, just north of Mendocino County. There's one contained fire (3700 acres) and three uncontained fires (1440 acres, 32000 acres, and 21000 acres and growing). So altogether this complex is about 58000 acres, about as big as all the Mendocino Lightning Complex fires put together.

The Y.B. fires are in very rugged, difficult-to-access terrain. The % containment is "undetermined" and I suspect the estimated containment date of August 15 is months over-optimistic. I agree with a friend of mine who told me "They're just going to have to wait for winter rains to put this one out."

Up-to-date info on Y.B. can be found on www.inciweb.org/ The 7:45 a.m. satellite photo this morning shows exactly how the Yolla Bolly smoke reaches us. There are two dramatic "drains" of smoke from the Y.B. One heads more or less east along a river which looks to me to be the South Fork of the Sacramento River. The other "drain" follows the Middle Fork of the Eel River to the Round Valley area, where it spreads out.

From there the smoke follows Hwy 162 southwest, around the end of a big ridge. Then some smoke comes down the Eel to the Potter Valley area and some continues following 162 to 101.

This is happening, incidentally, even on days when the weather forecast is for NW winds and it seems like the Y.B. smoke should be blowing further east, not coming SSW to Potter Valley and Ukiah.

If you have the patience to study a highway map and you pay attention to the tiny smudges of smoke in the 7:45 a.m. satellite photo, you can really see what's happening. Potter Valley shows on the photo as a smudge. The 101 corridor is a series of smudges.

For several days now, it's seemed like round about 11:00 or noon each day, the Y.B. smoke arrives in Potter Valley big time. From here, of course, some follows Hwy 20 to the 101 corridor and adds to the muck there.

I had hoped that when the Soda Complex's Big Fire and Mill Fire were contained, drenched by aircraft, etc. then Potter Valley's air quality would improve ramatically. But looking at what the Y.B. smoke is doing, I'm thinking we may be in for periods of very bad air for a very long time.

Kayla Wildman