Not what it appears . . .

Slide Fire, Sedona, Arizona, May 2014, image by Greg Lawson

In most cases an image like this might typify a lovely seasonal monsoon afternoon buildup, but in this case it is not a pretty picture at all. May 2014 witnessed the destructive visit of a forest fire known as the “Slide Fire” in Oak Creek Canyon which abruptly climbed to the Colorado Plateau above Sedona, Arizona.  This is the unsightly aftermath of smoke and flame coloration in evening sky observed from within the city limits.