Fire season
We had a horrific heat spell a couple of weeks ago (three days each broke the high temperature recorded in Portland; 108°F, 112°F, then 116°F) which dried everything out, and haven’t had any substantial rain since then. So things are really itching to turn themselves into ash.
When I first caught sight of the actual fire (I’d spotted the smoke billowing when I turned onto the Springwater Trail @ Johnson Creek Blvd) it was at the foot of the slope below the power line, racing up the hillside and crowning under the tower, but while I was on the phone with the 911 operator it expanded sideways up to maybe half an acre (I wasn’t going to go offroad to see what the shape of the fire on the other side of that little hill was due to not wanting to set my synthetic clothing on fire) and while I was taking this picture it was creeping enthusiastically towards me despite a headwind.
(No, I didn’t stick around to see the firefighting. The fire crews don’t need rubberneckers while they’re trying to club a fire into submission.)