Trout Lake Report: Fire Watch

I went to Trout Lake on Monday, but I had to take the long way around. The south road, my usual route, was closed because of the fires. So I went in from the north.

It more than doubles the mileage and the time, so I got to the lake later than I had planned. The view to the south was obscured by smoke.

The sky to the north was clear, and the light wind blew steadily out of the north/northeast, keeping the smoke plume away from the lake.

I fished, but the lake was very quiet. It seemed that the fish had already been evacuated because of the fire. It was the first time this season I didn't catch a fish. My consolation was to hear a pair of loons in frequent and beautiful communication.

At dark I packed up and drove south to see how close the fire was, and how close I could get to it. The barrier was up just north of Fish Lake, about four miles from Trout Lake.

I went around the barrier and up the hill and around a bend to where I could watch the fire burning its way down to the lakeside.

I could see firefighter vehicles on down the road, and it was clear from the glow in the sky that the fire stretched a long way to the south. I turned around and headed for home by the northern route.

I'll be keeping an eye on that fire's progress.