30% Contanined

The Shingle Fire, as the wildfire is called, about 10 miles north of us here in Glendale, Utah,  is 30% contained and no advancement of the fire, a good thing.  The firemen are still putting out hot spots, securing what has already burned by 'mopping up' and building a fire break to the north and east of the fire's path so it won't go beyond those breaks.  Large air tankers are flying by to the scene, dropping retardants to stop the spread. Bulldozers, equipment, tankers, helicopters - lots of things going on and it is very costly to maintain.  Think about it - you have to house the people, feed them, provide aid if hurt, give them time off to get refreshed - lots of manpower behind the scenes - and of course - lots of money spent to get this under control.  And this fire is one of over 400 burning right now in the country.  There is a wonderful website to look at - it's updated as each fire's info is updated.  http://www.inciweb.org/ According to the command center's website, people are here from Alaska, Oregon, and from Wyoming helping with this fire.  About 700 personal.  And this isn't a big fire - just it's in a mountainous area, lots of pine and scrub, fortunately only one injury, one cabin lost, and lots of woods/trees burned up.

The smoke wakes us during the night, very stinky, and we have to close the windows in order not to get sick from the smell.  In the morning a deep smoky  haze is over the valley here, we wait for the wind to change to the south to push the smoke out. As I look out the window of the RV right now, the valley to the north of us is very smoky - can barely see the top of the canyon, can't make out the pine trees and to the west - clear.  Wind out of the north west this morning.  By the latest report, they hope by the 10th of July to have the fire 100% contained.  We all need to give firefighters everywhere the respect and gratitude and credit for their hard work.  We salute you!