The smoke in Canyon eventually cleared up. That was because of a breeze that came up later in the morning. The wind started blowing to the east and, according to news sources in Billings, the fire has now burned 1600 acres. The road between Fishing Bridge and Grant was closed again today because of smoke. The smoke is very thick, and besides the large mushroom-shaped plume rising, it is creeping east lower to the ground. Visibility is very low in that area of YNP.
The power to Grant Village has been turned off and they are now powering with generators. The power to Canyon comes from that direction and hopefully the lines are not in danger or Fishing Bridge and Canyon could possibly lose power.
I took my twice daily trek to Hayden Valley after work and I was amazed at how much smoke there is. It is a powerful sight to see (check out the Mt. Washburn webcam). Though I understand that fire is a natural process that help rejuvenate the forests and wildlife and helps with new growth there is still a part of me that feels bad for losing some of the beauty of the forests for a time. But I guess all this beauty was created by fire in the first place.
