Where There's Smoke There's Fire

Where there’s smoke there’s generally fire … and that turned out to be the case in our neck of the woods this past week. If you visited us here in the White Mountains last weekend and noted the haze usually associated with the dog days of summer, you may have wondered why there was such low visibility when temperatures were so cool and refreshing? Oddly, I didn’t get suspicious about it until I read the weather forecast one day, which predicted “southerly breezes and smoke in the afternoon”. SMOKE? In the weather forecast?? The big news turned out to be a number of wildfires that broke out in Quebec last week, carrying the thick, hazy smoke to the White Mountains and beyond. The result was extremely low visibility and reports of a wood fire smell as far south as Boston. Luckily, the rain we received also fell up north, helping the firefighters to contain the blaze, which claimed more than 250,000 acres. Considering the warm, dry conditions of late, it’s easy to see how the fires got started. May ended with just 3.44” of precipitation on the summit of Mount Washington, which is less than half of the 8.21” average. Also on the summit, a new record high of 65 degrees was set on the 25th (destroying the 61-degree record from 2007) and another record high of 59 degrees was matched on the 26th. I have been continually watering the gardens and flower boxes here at the Lodge and up on the mountain. Be very careful if you’re burning brush, starting campfires, or (God forbid) a smoker who does not dispose of cigarette butts correctly. The Quebec fires may be under control, but we’re not out of the “woods” yet.