Was out on a remote ridge in the coast range with a few members of the #astronomy club last night. We found the #nova in Lupus and had settled in for a joyous night of observing despite pesky clouds.
We saw some headlights and heard a vehicle on the gravel access road a few hundred yards away to the West. A few minutes later we noticed a light colored cloud close to the ground which turned orange and was fed by a pillar of #fire, growing rapidly. Jerry called 911 to report precise location and particulars. We quickly packed up our telescopes and left. Some of the group stopped where the gravel road branches off from the highway to talk with the three fire department units that were dispatched from #Veneta to the site.
According to the #Eugene / #LaneCounty fire call log, the brush fire was cleared. I am so grateful that professional fire crews were able to stop this before it became a #ForestFire. I wonder what percentage of our wretched summer #smoke events in #Oregon are intentionally human caused.