The American River canyons are funneling the smoke from the Tahoe National Forest fire right down into the valley and today is expected to be worse.
An excerpt.
Large area chokes on smoke from Sierra fire
Health officials urge residents downhill of blaze to stay inside.
By Chris Bowman - Bee Staff Writer Published 12:00 am PDT Tuesday, September 12, 2006
The deeply carved forks of the American River have been delivering more than snowmelt lately down the western slope of the Sierra Nevada.
Every morning this past week, the American's three prongs also have ushered thick blankets of smoke from a hard-to-contain wildfire in the Tahoe National Forest to communities downhill, from Foresthill to Folsom.
Smoke, like water, rolls quite efficiently downhill through those steep river canyons.
"We have this incredible junction of all these rivers, and they're all acting as funnels for the smoke," said Carol Kennedy, a watershed specialist with the Tahoe National Forest. "They point straight at Auburn. And from there it's just a straight shot down into the valley."
To communities at the end of the smoke chute, it seems as though the blaze is in their neck of the woods. In fact, it's burning 35 miles away and more than 1,000 feet uphill.
On Monday -- day seven of the Ralston fire -- the smoke, combined with unhealthy levels of smog, prompted the Folsom Cordova Unified School District to keep students indoors.
