Last week while we were up north, the mountains separating Yakima Valley from the Lower Valley burned. Here’s what the news reported:
Making matters worse, temperatures are expected to soar to triple digits, and it’s windy.
“We have multiple homes threatened,” Lt. Keith Schrank with East Valley Fire said.
The fire appeared to be slowing Thursday afternoon as firefighters gathered to fight it.
There are 3 very short video clips posted here:
http://komonews.com/news/local/union-gap-fire-burns-4000-acres-overnight
Here’s what it looked like today–you can see the line where the fire was stopped. These were taken from the car as we drove by:
The fire burned right to the edges of the beautiful green orchards and vineyards.
In some places the fire came right down to the road.
In the meantime, the rest of the valley is moving towards a great harvest year. Here you can see the hops growing up the vines.
Wildlife update: today I saw a flock of about 12 white pelicans on the Yakima River. I am always watching for them. I saw one last week. Today I spotted the flock. The pelicans look like this–they’re as large as swans and stunningly beautiful. 
Today I also saw one Bald Eagle in flight.
And I always enjoy looking for the Ospreys. There are about 20 Osprey stands visible from the road as we drive from Yakima to Sunnyside. The stands are along the river and sometimes just in the trees near the fields. I’m not sure who builds the stands for them to build their nests on. When we first arrived, I thought they were pelican nests, but then I learned they were Osprey nests.
These nests crack me up. They look like bad hair days. They are huge and they are messy. Today almost every nest had an Osprey in it. That’s unusual. Here’s what they look like. (I didn’t take any of these photos.)
Our Washington Yakima Mission 