Wildfires In Glacier NP August 2018 - Need To Modify Trip
 

I was due to be in Glacier NP from August 26 - 29 but I hear parts of the west side and a portion of GTTS road is closed due to wildfires. I'm concerned that even the east side would be smoky and not worth the effort when we really were going for the scenery and to drive the GTTS road. Not to mention how crowded it will be with everybody who was going to the west side now going to the east side. I suppose if the fire is put out in the next couple of days it will still be OK to go, but how long do these wildfires tend to smolder and put out smoke?

So does anybody have suggestions for what to do instead? We'll be driving from Seattle, leaving on Aug 26 and need to be in Gardiner, MT, on Aug 29. We considered driving up to the Banff area for a couple of days, Or maybe visiting the Columbia River Gorge and Coeur D'Alene (if that's not smoky as well). We're looking for scenery and cool weather (we're from Florida so it doesn't have to be real cool to feel good to us).

Thoughts from those of you familiar with the area would be very welcome. Thanks!

Inciweb.gov and the Glacier NP websites are the best sources to follow fire activity. A type 1 team was brought in today which would lead me to believe they don't think this fire will be contained quickly or easily. Without full containment, there is always the possibility of smoky conditions depending on wind and rain activity. Having lived through two extremely large fires here in CO, including the most recent just contained last month, I would not make a trip to Glacier this summer.

Estimated containment is November 1st https://inciweb.nwcg.gov/incident/6135/

Air quality (which can change quickly) Montana DEQ - PM 2.5 Air Monitoring

Do you have accommodations on the east side? It's a long drive over if you're planning to stay on the west side.

I would check current fire and air quality for each state keeping in mind that new fires can start.

The Ketchum/Stanley/Sawtooth area of Idaho is beautiful but I'm not sure if the AQ is any better there.

Thanks for the info and websites. Our original plan was to drive from Seattle to Kalispell and spend the night, then drive the GTTS road to the east side and stay 2 more nights at Rising Sun before heading down to Yellowstone. This is largely a photography trip so we’ve officially cancelled the Glacier NP portion.

Instead we’re going to head west from Seattle, drive around the Olympic peninsula (we’ve been there before but not south of the Hoh River), head down the coast to the Columbia River, check out Mt St Helens and the Columbia River Gorge, and then wander east toward Yellowstone. We’re not making any hotel reservations yet since we’ll be playing by ear, but I suspect it won’t be too hard to find last minute accommodations.

Glacier NP will just have to stay on the bucket list for a while longer. Now hopefully Yellowstone and Grand Tetons will be smoke-free.

My heart really goes out to everybody whose lives have been disrupted by all these fires. I live in Florida and every year I keep my fingers crossed that we won’t get any hurricanes. Mostly we don’t but occasionally one comes by and we go through similar dramas to what the fire victims are dealing with. I wish the best of luck to everybody who is living with these fires.

The whole region is impacted by the fires right now. At present Seattle's skies range from gray to brown due to the smoke blowing down from the BC fires, so frankly I'm not sanguine that you're going to escape the smoke pretty much anywhere, barring the onset of the autumn wind patterns off the Pacific. Note too that the Columbia River Gorge, while gorgeous and one of my favorite places in the region, can be hot as hell in late August.

I'm going to float two ideas that will probably get nixed out of the box, but given your priorities, my feeling is, "What the hey." Both will be a giant switch from your current plans.

1. Stick to the coast. Scrap the Yellowstone option (I know, I know.) Questions: have you been down to the redwoods or up to Vancouver Island and/or Whistler or the BC Sunshine Coast? Look at this imaginary map, starting and ending in Seattle: https://goo.gl/maps/zQaxYxFJ9Zu The BC Sunshine Coast is under the radar for a lot of people in the US, but it's a terrific, scenic and laid back part of BC, well worth exploring. And the scenery around Whistler and up to Pemberton is fabulous.

2. Alaska. Three options here.

2a. Round trip cruise from either Seattle or Vancouver to Southeast Alaska - Glacier Bay, Juneau, Skagway, Ketchikan etc. There are some surprisingly good values available for "last minute" bookings on cruises. They're all for seven nights, and they're terrific value considering it's lodging, food, travel and entertainment all wrapped in one price.

2b. One-way cruise from Vancouver to Seward or Whittier, or southbound one way TO Vancouver. Also seven nights, and priced similarly to the round trip cruises (and stopping at the same ports) this would let you spend some time in Southcentral and/or Interior Alaska before or after the cruise, so you'd need more time (I'd say at least five days on land in addition to the cruise.) Late August and early September is a fabulous time to explore places like Denali, where the autumn colors can knock your eyeballs out. You want wildlife and mountain scenery? Bingo.

2c, Fly-drive. Fly up to Anchorage, get a car, and spend ten days or so exploring. Visit Denali, head down to Seward for a Kenai Fjords cruise or to fish for silver salmon, do a flightseeing trip over glaciers or icefields, visit the Alaska State Fair in Palmer over Labor Day weekend and see the mutant cabbages... It's a fabulous time of year.

Like I say, major switches. But just a thought experiment. Do the Columbia Gorge, Glacier and Yellowstone earlier in the year when the waterfalls are full and the skies are clear.

You are going to run into problems. Lodging on the Olympic Peninsula is limited and fills up far in advance. Trying to find any place at this late date will be tough, much less if you play it by ear. Also, the smoke is awful in many areas. Here are two links to the smoke, for OR and WA. This changes daily of course, could be better could be worse.

https://oregonsmoke.blogspot.com
Cliff Mass Weather and Climate Blog

Well, I’m a bit discouraged right now. This is the THIRD time I’ve planned this trip in the last few years and had to cancel both times before due to health reasons. I’m starting to think God really doesn’t want me to go these places.......

But flying to Alaska and driving around has also been on the bucket list so that would be an acceptable substitute. We’ve already done the Vancouver-Seward cruise and although it was an awesome cruise we really don’t need to repeat it. I wonder how hard it would be to get last-minute accommodations there?

anyway, thanks again for all the info. Might make for some last-minute scrambling but it’s better than getting there and being disappointed.

Wise choice to avoid Glacier this year. Have you thought about flying into Denver and seeing RMNP, Black Canyon of the Gunnison, Glenwood Springs, Estes...?

Thanks for the suggestion, and The Colorado Rockies is (are?) still on the bucket list, but a friend of ours just returned from Colorado and said sometimes it was clear and sometimes it was smoky. We’ve decided the entire American West is either on fire, covered with smoke, or so bone dry it’ll burst into flames if somebody looks at it cross eyed. I know I’m exaggerating but since we really can travel at any time of year we’ve decided to come back to that region sometime earlier in the year, or at least sometime when there are no fires reported.

Instead, we’re still going to Seattle to see family, then flying to Alaska for 10 days or so. We’re pushing the whole trip back a week, though, because there’s a big difference in prices after Labor Day.

So now I’m scrambling to cancel, change, and make reservations. But very much looking forward to getting to Alaska!

Delaying the trip until after Labor Day makes a lot of sense. As of today the entire state of Oregon and much of Idaho are under a smoke advisory except for 2 counties on the south coast.
The terrible fire season will last until we get significant rain (or snow).

I was amazed how much cheaper it was, just delaying one week. Between the lower airfare and car rental costs we saved $1000.