I shot this image from near Hope’s town hall and pizza parlor while looking west across the choppy water of Lake Pend Oreille toward the fire’s active edge. Gray smoke from the smoldering Sunset Fire trailed leftward from about 3/4 fo the way up the rugged, timbered mountainside overlooking Idaho’s northern Panhandle, starkly contrasting the colorful clouds above and fiery sunset beyond.
Scattered pines stood sentinel along the nearest shoreline, framing a lone boat dock and large cabin amid the serene bay, with low clouds hugging the distant peaks while separate gray fire smoke drifted below. The Sunset Fire scorched over 3,200 acres starting August 13, 2025, reached full containment by early September, and left this vivid scar visible from miles away during its volatile upslope runs.
I came across numerous wildfires in the Pacific Northwest on my three-month overlanding trip this past summer. At times, it was difficult to find a place to camp where the air was not contaminated with smoke, and the wildfire maps were ablaze with fires–Canada, only miles to the north, seemed completely engulfed. 2025 was a bad year for fires.
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© Stephen L. Frazier – All Rights Reserved. Reproduction, printing, publication, or any other use of this image without written permission is prohibited.
