The hills are on fire.

WOW. Incredible time lapse video shows how the #EagleCreekFire grew from Monday into early Tuesday.

(Video: Oca Hoeflein on YouTube). pic.twitter.com/XK8FsDkRmb

— KATU News (@KATUNews) September 5, 2017

Eagle Creek is 30 miles from where I live, although on the other side of the Columbia River.

This article from The Columbian includes a pretty amazing photo as well:

Officials extend air-pollution advisory

(Stevenson, by the way, is halfway between where I live and where my brother lived until very recently.)

Ash has been falling here since Monday. I didn't go outside at all on Tuesday and I haven't been outside at all today. No doubt, the ash is clogging our A/C filters. The ash in the air is think enough to block the sun's rays. Not completely, but it feels a little like the eclipse. The available light is eerie and temperatures are slightly lower because of the diffused light. The sun is glowing a deep orange rather than a bright yellow, looking more like Mars than the Sun.

I-84 and Highway 14 have been closed, school and outdoor events have been canceled, towns have been evacuated.

Wildfires aren't new. What is new is how close I am to them now. (Rather, how close they are to me.) I'm not native to the area but I've lived here most of my life now. As for ash, I moved here after the Mount St. Helens eruption in 1980. Then, the ash spewed was far worse as you can see here.

We are headed to Seattle this weekend, a little more than 150 miles north of here, where ash is falling from fires in Central Washington.

This map will show you how much these (and other) fires are affecting the country. Just showing the fires and smoke layers yielded this image:

This is truly spooky, a little bit scary, and a very sad for the people whose lives are forever altered by these fires. NOAA is reporting a Red Flag Warning for the area which means thunderstorms with abundant lightning is forecast, combined with critically dry fuels which may result in numerous fire starts. These conditions "can contribute to extreme fire behavior." West winds will continue through Thursday.

We could use the rain but lightning we can do without. Maybe a quick trip to Boston is in order. I hear there a lot of rain out there. (Flash floods? Egads! Is no one safe?)