Forest Fire and Back Home!

We got as far as Denali View South and stopped for the night, hearing that there was a forest fire, and the Parks Highway was closed!  We had intended to pass through early the next morning, so that was disconcerting and sad for those experiencing the displacement and loss of property and all of the items that tend to make our lives what we count on - scary. There were more great pictures of Denali and the Alaska Range right from where we were, and we had breakfast in the RV and compared notes and news about the fire with the other campers there.

We tucked in and planned a hike while we waited for more news about the fire and the highway opening.

The Upper Troublesome Creek Trailhead was just up the road, and we didn't see anyone the entire time on the trail, which ran up and down roughly along Troublesome Creek.  We hiked out about an hour and a half, then turned around.  The milepost book says there is a 15 mile hike to Byers Lake, but a sign at the campground says the trail is impassable beyond a point - which we evidently did not reach before we turned around!

A quick stop for "lunch" before starting back to the trailhead

Brian on our lunch/rest stop 

Back in the RV, we timed it just right to follow the pilot car (road construction) down towards Willow and the fire region - we had checked, and it seemed the road was open - when we got closer to the area that had been closed, a pilot car picked up our line and led us toward the smoky area.  As we moved up, we saw flames shoot up on the right hand side of the road, back a bit from the road but getting larger and closer as the RV moved forward.  The wind seemed to have reversed direction and was now moving rapidly toward the road - what do you do in an RV that doesn't easily turn around and reverse direction?  It seemed the same as avalanche danger - keep moving, do not slow down!  We hoped the cars in front of us kept moving, but we could feel the heat of the flames as we moved past, even in the air-conditioned vehicle.  The power and magnitude of fire was right there in our faces!

And we just heard on the news that a lightning storm now started a fire at Montana Creek, where we stayed on Friday night, with an evacuation in the works.  Our best wishes and prayers for all of the families and animals impacted by this series of fires with so much devastation.