Dismal swamp fire smokey sunset

[Trey45]

Some of you probably know that the swamp is on fire here, it's far enough away from where I live that there's no threat from the fire, however we're getting a lot of smoke and ash here. Smoke makes for some pretty spectacular sunsets, and crepuscular rays during the day, here's a selection of my favorites from the last few days.

This one is crepuscular rays peeking through smoke during the day.
http://images114.fotki.com/v74/photos/6/1809686/9985193/CrespucularRays005-vi.jpg

Assorted sunsets from this past week.
http://images116.fotki.com/v617/photos/6/1809686/9985193/SwampFireSmokeSunset016Thisone-vi.jpg
http://images116.fotki.com/v617/photos/6/1809686/9985193/SwampFireSunset020-vi.jpg
http://images114.fotki.com/v74/photos/6/1809686/9985193/Sunsetagain003-vi.jpg
http://images58.fotki.com/v511/photos/6/1809686/9985193/experimentwithISO023-vi.jpg

We've had rain the last 2 days, finally, so hopefully that will clear the air and help them with the fire. The news said they brought in some high pressure pumps to bring canal water to the fire at a rate of 800,000 gallons per hour.

[troyboy]

Nice pictures. It has been miserable here. It was so thick here this morning woke up with a headache. Just how does a swamp catch on fire?

[lbaize3]

We frequently have marsh fires here in Southeast Texas, along the Gulf Coast. Lots of smoke and even ashes in the swimming pool. So I do understand... I will follow your lead and get some pictures next time...
Leonard

[Trey45]

Troy, they said it was started by a lighning strike on august 4th and been burning since.

[GL49]

Crepuscular. Had to look up that one.

[Artful]

Nice pics, even with the worst - you can find some good if you look hard enough.

[mongo]

Nice pics. My kid brother lives in Camden NC. Last visit was in October of last year and there was a lot of smoke then, He said the swamp was on fire. This aint the same fire? He did say that it had been smolthering for a few months and with a north wind the smoke is everywhere.

[Trey45]

Different fire back in october, that was the Alligator River fire.

[Wayne Smith]

Hummhh! All I'm getting is unbreathable air and ash on my car!

[Echo]

Crepuscular. I like it...

[Freightman]

Nice pictures! We have those sunsets every day but it isn't caused from smoke just natural. The sunset shot in the Last Crusade (Indiana Jones ) was taken about 30 miles from the house.

[gnoahhh]

Nice pics! We could smell it up here in Annapolis. I walked out the door and wondered who the heck was burning coal.

[psj12]

Smoke was up in Harford county MD on saturday.

[10 ga]

It was really smokey, like thick acid fog, all the way up to Tappahannock on RT 360 and 17. Saturday, Sunday and some anytime the wind is SSE to SE. The fire is well over 100 mi. away. My daughter lives a block off rte 58 between Suffolk and Holland and she is getting very thick smoke, purple air quality alert area, and regular ash falling. Guess she is about 15 miles from the fire. There is a lot of downed trees from Hurricane Isabel back in 03 and that is providing a lot of ground fuel. It'll probably burn until the groundwater table rises to put it out. The peat and stumps and such will smoulder for months. I remember this stuff happening in the great dismal back in the 50+60s. Been happnin for thousands of years. 10

[Wayne Smith]

They are currently pumping thousands of gallons of water from lake Drummond uphill to the canals above the fire in an attempt to flood the swamp and put out the fire. We'll see how that works. May be the best chance yet.

[Dark Helmet]

Cough,cough- somebody tell'em to pump faster

[Wayne Smith]

I think they said over 5800 acres and 10% contained this AM.

[fishnbob]

We have been getting smoke and smell here in Appomattox for about a week. I blamed it on the machine shop down the road until I saw it on TV. The smell was sickening.

[Springfield]

So, are we going to start seeing stories about alligators being where they don't belong as they flee the fire?

[felix]

Lots of dust from the plains go to Houston. Red dust is most usual. Happens every year, but mostly not realized unless the cars are painted red enough by the dirt. ... felix

[wallenba]

[QUOTE=troyboy;1365174] Just how does a swamp catch on fire?

"Swamp gas", nasty stuff, also causes UFO's in Michigan:kidding:

[another gsxr 1k]

It's been like that down here in Florida. The Okeefenokee swamp (in Ga) has been buring since April 28th. Something like 300,000 acres burnt. I'd guess that I'm close to 100 miles south of there, and we've gotten smoke bad enough to limit visibility to well under 1/4 mile.

[Wayne Smith]

Wind out of the south this AM, Code Purple for Suffolk, Norfolk, Isle of Wight, points north on the Pennensula. Winds shifting to the west tomorrow and we will get it full force.

Swamps catch on fire when they dry out and lightening strikes into the peat. A swamp fire is a fire in the peat, underground to a large extent. Thus the attempt to flood.

[45nut]

Every time I read the thread title I read it as "Dismal swamp monkey sunsets".
I get tempted to move it to the politics area...............

[10 ga]

I think Hurricane Irene will put the fire out. NWS already shows 10+" of rain in the fire area and Irene aint even gone yet. They will probably get 15-18" plus of rain. That ought to flood the swamp plenty. Hope all are doing well with the storm. 10

[Wayne Smith]

Turns out it didn't. Still burning in places. This gives the firemen a much better idea of where they need to work, however.