[pct-l] That pesky Blankenship fire...

[Trekker4 at aol.com]

One hiker who hiked N past the Suiattle R closure reported getting  into 
serious smoke problems. One doesn't have get into fire to die. It would be  
real stupid to die on a closed trail from smoke inhalation, and smoke can 
change  directions instantly compared to the actual fire.
 
Bob  "Trekker" Brewer
Genealogy is chasing the dead, while irritating the  living.


In a message dated 8/29/2015 10:16:17 P.M. Central Daylight Time,  
paintyourwagonhikes at gmail.com writes:

The fire  was reported/discovered on July 14. I walked SOBO past it on July
24. The  trail closure went into effect July 25, and was posted at the
Cloudy Pass  TH/JNCT, which I encountered that Sat. morning as I exited the
closure  area. (I spent the night up on Suiattle Pass in a meadow)
The fire was  smoldering and creeping down Blankenship mnt. as I hiked by
it, with no  discernable flames present.  The fire's footprint was approx.
1/4 to  1/2 mile in width. The smoke extended north and south for approx. 1
mile in  each direction. It had not jumped Agnes Creek, nor the PCT.
The inciweb  website reported the fire's size at 70 acres when checked on
Aug.  1st.
Earlier this week, the fire's size was reported to be 180  acres.
Today, the fire is reported to be 212 acres.
47 days have elapsed  since the discovery of this fire.
This piss ant of a fire has the trail  held hostage.
It could have been squelched long before the entire northern  sector of WA.
caught fire, primarily due to lightning strikes, resulting in  the shifting
of resources to areas of much higher priority.
Normally, I  would refrain from second guessing those in authority of
subject matter I  know little about, like fighting forest fires.
That the trail remains open,  even though the surrounding areas are all but
closed, indicates the powers  that be understand the trail is of some
significance.
Additionally, that  a top notch crew assessed the fire from the air, in
order to put it out,  tells me that the trail's use is of some significance.
The Wolverine fire  was a piss ant fire too. It's now approaching 65,000
acres and 28%  contained.
All the angst, hyperventilating, and especially the defeatist  mentality
that I've been reading here, drives me batty, and this modest  rant is my
response.
Don't quit.
Don't go home.
Your hike is not  over.
And especially know that hiking an open trail is not putting  rescue
worker's lives at risk (guilt trip-not!)
Rescue workers serve  voluntarily and willingly go into harm's way.
Yes- the Blankenship fire is  a piss ant fire... and yet could still blow up
into a monster  conflagration.
There was a time long long ago, and in a galaxy far far  away, where piss
ant fires near things deemed significant were put  out.
At your controversial  service-
PaintYW
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