Busch Gardens in the Smoke

[marlfox_21]

I went to Busch Gardens again on Tuesday. When I woke up in the morning in Gainesville Florida (home of the U.F. Gators ) I stepped outside to a very smoky morning. The smell of smoke had been in the air for over a week now, due to the wild fires of Georgia, but it was much worse on this day. You could see it, smell it, taste it. So it would be a nice trip to drive 125 miles south to go to Tampa Bay and visit the GARDENS. So I went to my friends house ( Travis ) and left my car there as he myself and my fiance made our way south. After arriving at the park, I realized very quickly that this was not going to be the average day in the park. The wind had already carried the smoke to Busch Gardens. You really could not see the top of SheiKra. And the other coasters were not exactly clear to look at either. When we chose to ride these rides, especially going up KUMBA, I had to place my hands over my mouth for the smoke, and all of the trees surrounding the park looked like they were covered in a dark fog, but again, it was smoke. And the usual view of their Adventure Island waterpark was gone while on Kumba as well. And when we rode SheiKra, much later in the day, you still did not have your normal view of the city of Tampa, because it was blocked with smoke as well. Yes, even on SheiKra, you could not see the nearby Skyscrapers of the cities skyline. And again, even hours later the trees and the park itself were covered in a thick gray cloud. Walking through the park was no better. People were wearing paper masks to support their breathing. Which we ended up wearing as well. The shops were handing them out. This was an unreal day at the park. But when Travis's fiance called him apparently nervous about being home alone, we decided quickly to make our way back to Gainesville. Granted it was almost nighttime anyways, the beams off of Travis's Honda Accord did very little good when trying to drive through the smoke to get back to Gainesville. And upon reaching Ocala, the sky looked gray,and red, and just unimaginably thick. When we finally reached Gainesville, we stumbled upon an eerie sight....Ash. There was ash falling from the sky. Not incredibly thick, but just the same. When Travis parked his car, and I got out to look at mine, it was covered in ash. I couldn't believe it. Me and my fiance drove home pretty quickly, and the ash coming down, in my cars headlights, looked like snow coming down back home in Ohio. I parked my car, and grabbed my video camera and 1st proceeded to wipe the ash off of my motorcycle seat. In case of an emergency, I wanted to check the oil level in my car, which only took a minute, but the ash flashing through the flashlight beam was kind of well...creepy. Upon walking back inside, I myself had ash in my hair, and on my clothes. And after checking on all of our animals, I proceeded to close all of my vents, and turned on the news. Of course the news was not on, so I really had no idea where this fire was. After going online I was relieved to find out that it was still in Georgia, and a few controlled in Fl. but I felt so horrible for anyone in its path. And I now truly pray for them.

m.f.21

[Browntggrr]

That is a rather scary story.

Back in 2000, I was on my honeymoon (2 weeks in Disney) and when we landed in Orlando, that was the first thing you could smell- smoke. I never saw the fires myself, but the smoke was quite apparent when we arrived at Port Orleans. Until then, I have never been in a situation like that. Apparently the fires were about 1 mile from the Disney property.

We did take a day trip to Tampa, and on the way, there were warning signs for visibility due to the smoke. The areas around the highway were also scorched.

I hope that there have been no fatalities & property damage has been minimal where the fires are at.

http://www.redorbit.com/images/images-of-t...ires/index.html

This is a space shot of the affected area and a small article.

[The Interpreter]

Indeed, this is very sad, and so many have lost so much or are in danger of losing much. The fire situation also applies in California, where the city park in Los Angeles is on fire.

Last summer, I drove from Las Vegas to Magic Mountain. On the way, there was no problem. But, when I left Magic Mountain, the winds had shifted. The smoke was everywhere, as thick as fog. When I passed Primm on the way back, you couldn't even see the top of Desperado. The temperature was over 100, the winds were fierce. I kept driving, saying a prayer for those who were affected by the fires.

[Gordon Bombay]

Marlfox, do you have any pictures?

[WooferBearATL]

Well, Georgia is now in a severe drought.

There really is no rain in the forseable future.

The fires have now moved into Florida as well and there really does not seem to be an end in sight.

[Captain Picard]

looks like you can see the smoke from this cam at Clearwater.

http://www.beachtourism.com/pier.htm