Leaving Las Vegas

As we were leaving Las Vegas there was a traffic jam on I-15 North. Four lanes of highway were narrowing down to just one lane. At first we thought the cause would be road construction, or and accident. We kept hearing on the CB Radio talk about "Dumpster Diving", and had no clue as to what they were referring to. That is until we came up the cause of the back up. At first we saw the highway patrol car and the fire engines. There was a big boom in the air and we weren't sure as to why it was there. Seeing the liquid on the road we thought oh oh, a hazmat (hazmat is short for, hazardous material)  spill. Actually it was water, that could be hazmat. The big boom was used to pour water onto a truck that had caught on fire.

The firemen were standing around looking at...yep a garbage truck. Some how the truck had caught on fire. Now it was hot on this day. The temperature was around 106 f. The only thing I could think of is that methane gas had built up and something sparked it, causing a fire. Could the truck driver have lit up a cigarette? If so, it would be one huge reason to quit smoking.

This is one truck that will be going to the garbage on another truck, for sure. There were quite a few people standing around looking at the damage. Some looked as if they couldn't believe what they were looking at. Only on the roadways do we see such sights. Fire isn't nice in any shape, manner or form.

As we were heading to Grantsville, Utah we were able to see some of the fires in Southern Utah. The smoke coming off the mountainsides was amazing to see.
This picture was taken at a distance, and it isn't very clear, but clear enough for you to get the jest of the smoke on the mountain side.

The rate that the fire was spreading was amazing. The wind was just pushing the fire from one hillside to another. The smoke was so thick that we couldn't see if there were any air tankers dropping water on the fire.

We were going west on US 50 and Highway 6 towards Delta, Utah. As we were watching the fire as we traveled, another fire started to burn in a canyon on the next ridge over from this one. The fire embers are carried by the wind and then from there it is disaster. Everything is so dry that just a little spark can start a fire of major proportions.

Even though, the fire was at a distance, there is always the chance that it will change directions and head towards farms and ranches. We saw several fire crew trucks on the roads heading towards the mountains.

All of a sudden we saw a huge plume of black smoke. This had to be a structure of some kind that had caught on fire. Maybe it was just a barn or shack that was of no use anymore. I would hate to think that someones home had just gone up in smoke. Fires do not have any conscience and will destroy what ever is in its path in a blink of an eye.

As we drove mile after mile and kept an eye on the fire, we never saw a tanker dropping water. I wonder if the wind conditions were such that they couldn't fly over the area and drop water or fire retardant.

From what I can gather the fire is 5 miles from Oak City, Utah. The fire, as of July4, 2012, has consumed 104,681 acres and is only 51 per cent contained. Rain would be welcome, but with rain, lightning usually comes with it. To think that a spark from a bullet hitting a rock could start a fire of this magnitude or even the heat from heavy equipment, such a a backhoe or farm tractor. The land is that dry. Rain would be nice, without the lighting.
The end of June wasn't very good to many people throughout the West, due to fires.  Let's hope that July will be a better month for all concerned.
   So, until the next time I'll see you ..on the otherside.