7/16/06 – A lightning bolt last Friday afternoon birthed a forest fire approximately 20 miles northwest of Sawbill. Luckily, the fire is located in an area prescribed to be burned later this fall, and is near a larger area of previous prescribed burns. Therefore, the Forest Service has high confidence of bringing the fire under control, and it poses no threat to the Sawbill area. The fire news had to compete briefly this evening with a tornado warning. No tornadoes developed, but quite a bit of rain fell over the area as a cold front moved through and dropped the temperatures dramatically.
-Matt

Picture of the smoke cloud taken from a Beaver float plane belonging to the Forest Service.

Smoke plumage Friday afternoon as seen from Sawbill Lake.

Attempt to get a view of the smoke plumage at sunset from the loading dock.