Currently, ash is falling in Seattle and Portland's air quality is on the high end of "unhealthy for everyone." Do remember that the smoke can damage your lungs--it happened to me last fall! That's why I'm hiding in my air-conditioned bedroom.

The USFS,at least in the past few years, is quite good about closing areas a long way ahead of the fire and sending out people (usually volunteers) to clear the trails being closed. Some think they're overzealous, but with the way fire can move, better safe than sorry. Having to rescue folks at the last minute means less resources for fighting the fire.