rivermama

janisj How horrible! all that needless loss!

rivermama

@tomfuller we likely are going to bag Crater Lake. Hopefully the coast will be ok!

tomfuller

Depending on which way the wind is blowing, the views of Crater Lake might be smoke free. There is at least one webcam that you can check before leaving the coast or Portland. There is a new large fire in Washington state that has been covering a large area of Oregon east of the Cascades when the wind comes from the north. The Jack fire west of Crater lake is still putting smoke into the National Park area when the wind is from the west. Conditions vary from day to day.
I live about 40 miles north of Crater Lake NP. When I'm driving south, I usually drive to Sacramento or even Stockton in a day.

lynni

I just attended a wedding in Livermore, CA on Friday and drove up to Ashland, OR for a few days with family before returning home to the central coast. Check and see how the fires are before you go- you may want to stay off of the 5 and go the coastal route the whole way. The smoke is horrible in Ashland- too much to lay by the pool, eat outside or walk downtown. Driving home Monday evening south on the 5 to Danville, I truly saw so much smoke I thought surely the freeway would be closed ( visibility was very poor) and I hurried through. Ash was all over my car and thick in the air. (Some freeways east of the 5 were closed.) I know this is old information but it would put a huge damper on your trip to be in the middle of that if the smoke and fires continue. The snow on Mt. Shasta or Mt. Lassen ( can't remember which one) is actually brown- I've never seen that before! Take all warnings seriously and listen to the traffic updates! Good luck!

rivermama

@lynni it looks like we are just going to have to play it by ear for the trip back to San Fran. Ashland was going to be a stop to visit a friend, guess we'll check with her and like another said maybe high tail it as far as we can on the 5 to an off ramp hotel. Thanks all!