Our trip today from Nugget City to Dease Lake was affected by the wildfires that were not far away.
Our wagon masters were going to be leaving the campground at 9am. At around 8:30am they got onto the walkie talkie and told everyone to hold tight as there was a possibility that the road, we were to travel on was closed due to the wildfires.
Our leaders spoke with the campground owners who also spoke with their local fire department. They were told that the road is open but there is a pilot car that would be taking folks through the fire area. The pilot car takes a line of vehicles in one direction while those at the other end wait to be escorted the other direction.
Our wagon master wanted to verify the information and drove his vehicle to the possible closure/pilot car area, and he returned saying that the road was open and recommended that everyone head out soon, so we get through the road via the pilot car in case the fire changes and road gets closed.
The alternative route to where we were going would have taken 24 hours of driving!
I left the campground not long after the wagon masters departed. It was 10 am and 66 degrees. There was smoke from the fire in the air.
Probably half of our RV’s were in the first group that I was in that was escorted by the pilot car through the fires. I think we waited almost a half hour until it was our turn to go. It did take almost a half hour to get through the fire area.
There were thick areas of smoke, and you could see fires not far from the road.
As soon as we got past the fires the sky was blue and it was sunny.
After we got past the fire area the travel was good. I stopped at a big Jade store to see what they had. I did not purchase anything but enjoyed seeing the craftmanship.
It was 80 degrees when I got to Dease Lake and I traveled 147.3 miles.
Next stop is Stewart, British Columbia, Canada