The fire is one of dozens of uncontained fires burning across Northern California, most of them started by an intense lightning storm the last week of June.

Among the most active and dangerous fires is the group of them along the American River. The North Fork of the river starts at the Sierra Crest near Tinker Knob (8,949'). The Middle Fork starts near Squaw Peak (8,885'). The water in the forks flows westward down the Sierra toward the Sacramento Valley.



The fires along the American River canyons are spreading across the tops of trees ("crown fires"). The smoke and ashes flow slowly eastward with the light winds, up over the Sierra Crest, down the valleys--such as Palisades Tahoe and the Truckee Canyon--and into the Lake Tahoe Basin and Martis Valley. The ashes that fall from the sky on occasion are slightly reminiscent of light snow flakes.



www.Tahoetopia will continue to report NASA images twice a day, as they become available. Below is the "big picture."