skovbrande, røg snus ud af udendørs eventyr over hele USA

Andy Farquhars planer om et udendørseventyr er gået op i røg to gange denne sommer.

Den pensionerede advokat og lærer fra Philadelphia-området havde planlagt at vandre med en ven i flere uger på Pacific Crest Trail nord for Lake Tahoe, indtil den næststørste brand i Californiens historie ramte over Sierra Nevada, lukke en 160-mile (257-kilometer) strækning af stien og dække området i tyk røg.

"Jeg så et satellitbillede af, hvor vi skulle hen, og alt det var ild, " han sagde.

De to forvandlede sig og valgte en tilsyneladende brandsikker backup-plan:Kanosejlads i et massivt netværk af søer og moser på grænsen mellem Minnesota og Canada. Den plan gik i stå, da lynudløste brande tvang lukningen af ​​Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness.

"Vi slår nul nu, " sagde Farquhar.

Utalt antal campingpladser, fiskeri, vandreture, ridning, rafting og cykeleventyr er blevet skrottet, da amerikanske skovbrande har brændt næsten 7, 900 kvadrat miles (20, 460 kvadratkilometer) i år i skove, chaparral og græsarealer hærget af tørke. Langt de fleste er på offentlige arealer i Vesten, der også fungerer som sommerlegepladser.

Mere end 24, 000 campingreservationer ud af 3,2 millioner hidtil i år er blevet aflyst på grund af skovbrande, ifølge data opbevaret af Recreation.gov, som booker campingpladser på de fleste føderale lande. Det tager ikke højde for udeblivelser eller folk, der gik tidligt.

Alle nationale skove er lukket i Californien for at prioritere bekæmpelse af flammer, inklusive Caldor Fire nær Lake Tahoe, et udendørsparadis året rundt, der tiltrækker skiløbere, vandrere, mountainbikere, sejlere og paddleboardere.

Lassen Volcanic National Park er også lukket på grund af Dixie-branden, ilden, der tvang Farquhar til at aflyse sin plan om at vandre fra Lake Tahoe-området til Oregon-grænsen.

I juni, brande lukkede flere nationale skove i Arizona, afsporingsplaner Kristin Clark lavede med familien for at campere ved Lynx Lake i Prescott National Forest til sin mors 70-års fødselsdag.

Hun reserverede campingpladsen i februar. Da ferien nærmede sig, hun så, mens skovbrande voksede, medfører nye lukninger. Hun vidste, at hendes tur var forbi, før den begyndte.

"Det er virkeligheden i Arizona. Oftere og oftere, vi får skovbrande, " sagde Clark. "Jeg var forbløffet. Min mand var sur. Vi havde virkelig glædet os til en uge i naturen for på en måde at koble af."

Intense skovbrande er faldet sammen med en kraftig stigning i mennesker, der forsøger at finde ro i naturen efter at være blevet lukket ind under coronavirus-pandemien. Konkurrencen om online campingplads- og rygsæktilladelsesreservationer er hård, og de kan fylde op seks måneder i forvejen, efterlader mindre fleksibilitet til spontane ture eller nem omlægning.

En af de sværeste billetter at score i Californien er et pas til toppen af ​​Mount Whitney, den højeste top i det sammenhængende USA. Hundredvis, der formåede at vinde en tilladelse og trænede til den besværlige vandretur, blev afværget i juni, da en brand brød ud nær hovedstien i Inyo National Forest.

Sporet var lukket i 10 dage, forhindrer op til 1, 850 mennesker fra vandring, sagde Debra Schweizer, en skovtalskvinde.

Ud over skov- og parklukninger, der har krævet folk til at aflyse eller ændre planer, masser af andre ture er blevet ændret af nærgående brande og den allestedsnærværende røg, der har skabt en respiratorisk fare for millioner på landsplan.

Kerry Ellis fra Boise, Idaho, og hendes familie gjorde ikke noget sidste sommer på grund af COVID-19. Så de var spændte på en raftingtur i juli på Salmon River med venner.

Efter en dags køretur, they arrived to find the area blanketed in smoke that made it uncomfortable for Ellis, who has asthma, to breathe. The outfitter described scenarios of the fire jumping the river, embers flying and smoke making it impossible for guides to see.

"They pointed out that once you push off, you're committed for the entire six days, " Ellis said. "You have no cell service. It's Idaho backcountry. With that level of wildfire and smoke, the chances of evacuation would be difficult."

The outfitter canceled the trip. It was disappointing, but Ellis said it was the right decision.

Wildfire smoke has increasingly become a fixture on the Western landscape, ranging from a strong campfire odor in its most mild form to a serious health hazard that causes coughing fits and headaches. Satellite images show plumes from fires pouring into the sky and spreading widely, even reaching the East Coast.

For mange, selvom, smoke appears to be an irritating but tolerable inconvenience when pricey or hard-to-get plans have been made.

Even as smoke shrouded the Tahoe basin last week—before evacuations were ordered at the south end of the lake—people in masks walked the beach or pedaled bikes along the shore.

A study of 10 years of campground bookings on federal land found relatively few cancellations or departures when smoke was present. The study by Resources for the Future, an independent nonprofit research institution, suggested campers were less likely to pull out of popular destinations like Glacier National Park in Montana or Yosemite National Park in California.

"Limited visitation seasons at northern parks like Glacier, as well as competitive reservations at popular parks like Yosemite, could lead campers to brave the smoky conditions rather than forego a trip altogether, " sagde forfatterne.

Those patterns could change, particularly after the past two years of severe, pervasive fires that were not accounted for in the study, said Margaret Walls, a senior fellow with Resources for the Future who co-authored the study. She thinks the potential for smoke could factor into future plans.

"I fortiden, maybe you just went. You didn't think about the smoke, " Walls said. "You used to be able to say, it'll be all right around the Grand Canyon. Not anymore."

When the Boundary Waters in Minnesota's Superior National Forest was closed last month, Farquhar was one of hundreds of paddlers who lost out. The outfitters who rent canoes, sell supplies and help them plan their trips also were hit hard.

Typisk, the parking lot of Sawbill Canoe Outfitters is full of cars in August and all its roughly 200 canoes are in the wilderness, said Clare Shirley, the third-generation owner. Despite a blue sky and no smell of smoke recently, the boats were all on their racks late last month and the parking lot was nearly empty.

"Det er meget, very quiet around here, which is eerie, " said Shirley, who estimated she was losing tens of thousands of dollars. "We're definitely missing out on a big chunk of our peak season."

Farquhar has pivoted once again. He and his friend were fixing up a canoe last week for a trip to the Debsconeag Lakes Wilderness Area in Maine. The state's forest service designated that area with its lowest rating for fire danger.

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