Lake Cushman Forest Fire


With fall upon us and the trees changing and leaves falling I thought it would be great time for an overnight trip into the Olympics for some fall photography... Well I was unaware of the forest fire in the Lake Cushman area. So when I got to the road closed sign I turned around and went up another mountain road towards Mt Eleanor. I set up camp near a beautiful stream and watched the full moon come up through the smoky haze... And then as it got dark I noticed the smoky haze was associated with a line of forest fire that stretched across the valley below where I was camped!

The picture isn't as impressive as it seemed to me when I took it... but it was in the same direction that I had to drive out, so I decided to pack up and leave. A guy in a station wagon came down the road and asked me if I thought it was safe to stay in the area, I told him I didn't know for sure but I wasn't going to find out either.... Turns out that fire has been burning for 2 months and the wind was blowing away from our location, but better safe than sorry. ;-)



I did take the time as it was getting dark to take a few images of the beautiful stream that I was camped next to. This one is my favorite of the bunch and will be featured later this fall on the new fine art gallery that Dave and I are planning to set up. More information on that to follow...

30 second exposure, lit only by the moon filtering through the trees

Posted: Fri - October 6, 2006 at 08:24 AM          

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