Smokey skies in Alaska?

[jasbo49]

Is anyone currently cruising in Alaska experiencing smokey skies from forest fires? Has anyone experienced it in the past?

 

I'm sitting here in Southern Oregon and for the second year in a row looking at an ugly gray sky because of a forest fire 50 miles away. I'm telling my wife we should cruise to Alaska next year around July or August to get away from the smoke, and she's showing me a map of fires in Alaska right now. They don't look close to anywhere we'd cruise, but I thought I'd check with you folks. Are you experiencing ugly, smelly skies due to smoke? Thanks.

 

Jim

[crystalspin]

Smoke from the Alaskan fires has been reported (and photographed) in several cruiseport cities and even Talkeetna/Denali. I don't have links, but just google 'Alaska fire smoke'.

[Lucky TGO]

17 minutes ago, crystalspin said:

Smoke from the Alaskan fires has been reported (and photographed) in several cruiseport cities and even Talkeetna/Denali. I don't have links, but just google 'Alaska fire smoke'.

I just googled Alaska forest fire. See photo.

Tony

[jasbo49]

Now hold on a minute. This is not the way it was supposed to go at all.

 

You were all supposed to say, "No, Jim, I've never heard of such a thing. You should book a long Alaska cruise next summer."

 

How am I supposed to show THIS thread to my wife???

 

Jim

[patrickmoran]

We had a slightly  hazy sky in Skagway right after the 4th. No odor. Nothing like last year in the Tetons and Yellowstone. Our weather for most of the cruise was cloudy and some drizzle. 

Over 100 fires in the Artic this year -very unusual

[donaldsc]

The smoke odor in Anchorage and on the Whittier to Anchorage bus trip was intense.

 

DON

[cruisequeen4ever]

I live in AK. The smoke was really bad for weeks but is thankfully gone now. 👍

[geoherb]

I did back-to-back cruises in late June/early July. The smoke smell was noticeable on my turn-around day in Whittier (June 26). It wasn't visibly smoky. People who got on the ship that day who had been closer to the fires on the Kenai Peninsula said it was worse there.

[jg21]

We flew into Fairbanks in 2009 through smoke from fires. It was a little unsettling as the pilot came on and said we were going to circle a bit before we landed. You couldn't see anything out the windows at all, and then suddenly there was the ground and the airport!   It smelled a bit smoky that first afternoon, but the next day the wind must've shifted and there was no more haze or smell.

[azbirdmom]

It was very smoky when we were at Denali 3 weeks ago.  Couldn't see mountains at all on the trainride from Anchorage to Denali (and back) and our trip to the end of the road at Denali was quite smoky as well obliterating any possible chance of viewing the mountain.  By the time we made it down to Whittier there was some rain and we didn't smell any smoke for the rest of the cruise.  I know someone who was at Denali last week and it was nothing but sunshine and blue skies.  Timing is everything!

[casofilia]

If you can forecast where the smoke from fires is going to eventuate then I'm sure the Forest Services in Canada and the US would welcome you with open arms.

We were forced to fly from Quesnel to Vancouver a couple of years ago as the road south was closed due to the fires.   We went to our hotel in Vancouver and the sky was dark with smoke from the fires in Northern BC.

[Britboys]

I arrived in Fairbanks on 13th July and it was very smoky around the airport.  Our driver/guide explained that there had been a very large forest fire recently.  Over the next few days however it all cleared.  We had a lovely view of Mt Denali whilst on the rail journey to Whittier on 17th July, which made up for it being shrouded in cloud whilst we were in Denali.  The weather throughout the trip was pretty good.  Only two or three showers and lots of sunshine.  Mild to warm temperatures.