We're back! Our brief sojourn on a houseboat in California's Lake Oroville was restful, as always.
It was also very smokey and mildly apocalyptic, thanks to the many wildfires that are currently ravaging the state. The photo of the Chinook helicopter shown above is taken from a superb gallery of California firefighting images a few friends sent us this morning, and indeed, during our float we often saw Chinooks dipping their buckets into the reservoir to refill.
But to give you a more intimate sense of how the fires are impacting the state, check out these two photos taken from the exact same spot during our houseboating adventure.
This photo is from Friday, July 4:
Here's the same spot on Sunday, July 6:
The scene gave new meaning to the phrase, "Smoke on the Water."
LINKS:
California's Continuing Fires (Boston.com photo gallery)
PREVIOUSLY:
Helitack 406: A Firefighting Helicopter in California
DC-10 Fire Tanker Joins the Fight Against SoCal Blazes
Hovercraft Save California Island from Raging Wildfire
DC-10 Airliner Attacks Big California Wildfires
(IMAGES: Top: A firefighting National Guard helicopter drops water on July 3, 2008 near Goleta, California. Photo by David McNew/Getty Images. All other images by Telstar Logistics.)
Yikes. It was like that here (Pleasant Hill), too.
Posted by: Sergei Andropov | 10 July 2008 at 10:50 PM