Wildfire Season

Summer also means wildfires in much of the west and this year is no exception. Upon reaching Columbus, MT, about 2 hours from my dad's house, we came across the above roadblock on I-90. The interstate was closed due to a shift in winds which made visibility on the interstate on the next 50ish mile stretch near nil. So we hopped off in Columbus and while most people were renting rooms for the night, I knew there HAD to be a back road out of this place. Our time in MT was short, and I wasn't wasting a night of it.

Sure enough, stopped in a gas station and the lady there directed us to the road that would lead us to Big Timber, where the other end of the roadblock was. This road was nearly an hour of dirt, washboards and hair-pin turns on a road barely able to fit 2 car widths. The kids loved it! We also got some amazing shots of the smoke with the sun.

The fire, when we were leaving, had burned in excess of 150,000 acres. The helicopter shot was taken of one the fire camps near Big Timber.

*Jeremy, these are the shots I had mentioned. And truly, my camera doesn't do them justice. I wish you could've seen it!