It’s been very warm to hot this summer in the Pacific Northwest. It’s been cooler the last couple of days but we had a two week string of temperatures in the mid to upper 90s. That combined with a number of high base thunderstorms (lots of lightening and no rain) has resulted in a lot of wild fires. Below is a picture I took several years ago in one of the areas now burning. It is Rowena in the Columbia River Gorge, It is or perhaps was a place of almost magical beauty.