Prescribed Burn

 We drove to Moab for a couple of days exploring while Todd and family were engaged in their normal routine. I will generate a post or two based on our experiences there after I have time to work on the photos. The return trip to Salt Lake City provided one unique experience. 

As we drove, we could see one ominous plume of smoke rising in the distance. For some reason, I concluded this was a coal-powered electricity generation facility. As we got closer and closer, I thought it might be a fire, and soon signs on the roadside said: "Prescribed burn - do not report."  

We eventually reached a point at which we could view the fire and interpret what seemed to be the point. They were burning the material near the top of a ridge line.

I now take most photos with my iPhone, but I did have one of my cameras with us and I used the telephoto to get a closer look. If you look in the lower right-hand corner of this photo, you should see a helicopter. I was a little late in catching the copter in action, but it was carrying some kind of tank of flammable material that it would shoot out to start the burn and it was leaving to refill as I took this photo.