27 Large Wildfires Burning in the Western US

The conditions in the Pacific Northwest of the United States continue to be hot, dry, and windy.  There is one wildfire burning in Florida; the rest are in Texas, Washington, Oregon, Idaho, and California.  The fire in Florida covers 650 acres and is 60% contained.  The two fires in California cover 9,780 acres - the smallest, in Sequoia National Forest is 85% contained; the second fire is only 20% contained.  There are three large wildfires burning in Idaho, and they cover 32,786 acres; the fires are at 5%, 10% and 30% controlled. The two fires in Texas have burned 6,100 acres and both are almost totally contained.  Washington has two wildfires burning, and they cover 23,071 acres; the smaller fire is uncontained, the larger has a 40% containment. In the state of Oregon, there are 16 wildfires burning, covering 89,797 acres; the containment of these fires varies between 40% to no containment.  For exact and updated information regarding wildfires, please see: http://www.nifc.gov/fireInfo/nfn.htm      California is going through a severe, if not killing, drought.  Water conservation laws have been enacted in that state; and both Oregon and Washington have declared states of emergency, enabling the state units of the National Guard to aid in fire-fighting and evacuations of homes.  There are also fires burning in Nevada and Utah, New Mexico, Arizona and in Wyoming.  The air in and around Boulder is beginning to get hazy from smoke particles again.
   Of course, Colorado has been seeing flash flooding over the past two days, because of heavy rain storms - mostly in southern Colorado, but also in Evergreen, Manitou Springs and Colorado Springs. Here in Boulder, there were several showers before daybreak yesterday, then a short period of rain just past noon. About 4 p.m., there was a heavy down pour, in which we received almost an inch of rain in 45 minutes; then there were four or six more showers before midnight.  We're having an extremely wet and cool summer, so far....
   The weather folks say thunderstorms again this afternoon, with a high temperature of 78.  However, we're supposed to "dry up" and have temperatures in the 90s from Friday through Wednesday.  I need to go over to Lynn Thore's and turn on her garden irrigation set-up, with watering twice a day - but I won't do that until Friday.  I was supposed to return home from Maggie's on Wednesday, but it turns out that Lynn's daughter will be leaving Wednesday or Thursday, so, after I take Christina to DIA, I'll be moving into Lynn's again - until I pick Lynn up at DIA on the 28th, when she returns from her trip to Italy.  (I wish I could travel as often as she does!)