-Ever hear the expression/statement that "fire is a natural--an ordinary if not integral part of the life-cycle of a forest," 'n stuff? Well, it's true. -And one of the REALLY nice things about Al-ass-ka, is that there is SIGNIFICANTLY less man-made interference---in just about everything. There is virtually no traffic enforcement---so there are very few wrecks. There are virtually no police, so there's virtually no crime---that sort of thing. :) -And, since there is virtually no fire suppression, fires burn themselves out---and the forests are healthy. :)
But, since I live in the northernmost reaches of the taiga/the beginning of "tundra forest," it not infrequently seems that the whole state is burning down. :P -You know how, where you live--they have weather forcasts/reports like, "partly sunny," "rain," "snow," "scattered showers"--and things like that? Well, in the Interior in summertime, we occaisionally get weather reports of--and I kid you not--"smoke."
The presence of this nigh-perpetual smoke in the air, sometimes make for some very pretty views---and positively EXTRAORDINARY sunsets. These pictures were taken in 2002.
These pictures really don't do the scene(s) credit. (When do they ever?) The slanting, smoke-filled rays from the sun, were really quite beautiful---in fact, they almost looked like a "daytime aurora." :)
On to more really cool pictures of "forest fire season." :)