Newsgroups: bit.listserv.words-l
Date:         Fri, 21 Aug 1992 11:58:56 MST
From:         Dan Lester <ALILESTE@IDBSU.IDBSU.EDU>
Subject:      the fires of august
Comments: To: All fellow wordslers <words-l@uga.cc.uga.edu>,
              Diet List <diet@ubvm.cc.buffalo.edu>,
              Marilyn Lester <axvnlml@uicvmc.BITNET>,
              Lorraine Lester <llester@unmb.BITNET>,
              Liz Clayton <lclayton@uhuru.uchicago.edu>,
              Gail Lester <gaill@hpdmd48.boi.hp.com>

Hi....I'm alive and catching up on listmail....after a hellish week with
lots of reading of msgs and little posting.   But work has beckoned with a
number of crises, including doing a major upgrade on our library system,
which has been down all week as a result.  Since it is the dead week
between the end of summer school and the faculty-return-to-hear-speeches-week,
that hasn't been too bad except for those bozos who are angry because
we are down "the most important week of the year....the week I write my
syllabus."  Of course suggestions that they might have written it earlier
in the summer are useless.   We DO have a CDROM backup system, but.....

Our fires are really impacting our lives now.  The biggest fire, over
60,000 acres now that two fires have joined into one, is advancing on
a 12 mile wide front, burning over 1000 acres per hour.  There is no
luck in fighting it yet.  It is about six or seven miles from our house,
and a number of ridges are totally black ash now.  Hopefully it is
turned, butwho knows what the winds will do if the promised cold front
comes in.  Today is supposed to be 86, yesterday was 96.  Supposedly
the 70s will be our highs for sat and sun.  But since this front was
supposed to be here two days ago, I'll believe it when I feel it.
The smoke has everybodys eyes burning and itching, noses stuffed up, etc,
even for those who don't have the allergies that we do.  Doubt there will
be many joggers out today....at least if they are smart.

Boise is layered in smoke.  We can't see the mountains at all from further
than a mile away.  Last night, and the night before, the sky to the east
was solid red....and earlier, in the daylight, the clouds of smoke had
created their own firestorm kind of winds that billowed up into big
thunderheads which produced more dry lightning, adding to the dangers
of more fires being created as sort of spinoffs of this one.

Many other fires are burning in central Idaho, but we know less about them.
One small town was evacuated, but finally saved.  As Cinda and I head north
in mid afternoon, through central Idaho, we will probably learn more about
what is happening up there.  So far, no roads have been closed, other than
local ones in immediate fire areas.  If the main road north is closed, a
possibility, depending on what happens with some other fires, we'll have
to detour an extra fifty miles or so, but thats no big deal.

We'll stay in Lewiston tonight and go to her dorm at U of Idaho tomorrow
to get her moved back into the same room, same roommate, etc.  Roomie
arrives tomorrow nite from Hawaii, where she lives.  I'll be back to
email on saturday nite, God willing, etc.

dan
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