Fire or Cloud?

[MarkBC]

The Bend Bulletin newspaper published today this graph showing the effect of forest fire on Bend air quality this past week. Interesting how it peaks at about the same time each day:

 

[MarkBC]

There's a new one that started this morning, 1500 acres so far, in the Three Sisters Wilderness sw of Sisters, OR: "Pole Creek"

A huge mean-looking column of smoke is visible from Bend.

 

[CraggyMan]

Predicted high winds out of the NW make for a bad conditions today.

 

[MarkBC]

A story in the Bulletin this morning says that 4 cars burned up at the Pole Creek trailhead...cars of people who'd hiked somewhere from there, presumably.
So where are those people?

Ashes are falling at my house, and the sun is very red this morning.. ...glad I'm driving to the coast today, upwind of all western fires.