It's not easy to follow the circulation patterns of smoke from various fires--I've experienced a scenario where a plume from the Southern Sierra gets pulled over the range then north, up 395 and back west, over the Tahoe region [choke]. Living in the valley, the last month our skies have been filled with smoke from the coast range and the Sierra foothills. For all I know somebody stole Mt. Diablo in the interim.

Several consecutive above-average winters would help stanch the forest and meadow losses. Restoring the forests themselves will be something perhaps our kids see--we will not. Had a long and somber look from the Rim Fire overlook last summer--a burn so extensive it can't all be seen at once from the ground. It's not hard to imagine more such burns eating up the remaining forest, much as Lake County is in the process of losing much of theirs.