Questions about wildfire avoidance

So, I’m from New Jersey. I’m trying to hit the lower 48 and I plan on flying to WA sometime next week.

First of all, I’m taking the northern route west bound (15 from Missoula to Spokane) then Brigham City to Bear Lake coming out of SLC so I can hit Utah. This is all in a 150, so I’ll wait for as long as I need to for good weather to do each crossing. VMC obviously, and winds that aren’t too bad. I also plan on getting some mountain flying tips from a CFI in Denver before heading north. This will be when I develop my weather minimums for the crossing.

Now to my real questions - a lot of these TFRs are for fire fighting. I have absolutely 0 experience with flying around wildfires, except when the smoke from the Canadian fires blew south last summer. I do plan on asking the CFI I’ll get in Denver, but I’m not there yet.

How much of a problem will wildfires be? How much of a buffer should I give them? If I just stay clear of the smoke, and don’t fly over them, will I be fine? If it’s a beautiful VMC day and I can just avoid them, great. If I’m IMC, would I be able to tell if it goes from normal clouds to wildfire smoke?

Also, how do I get realtime / same day updates about wildfires? I plan on getting flight following or being IFR as needed, but would certainly like to be able to brief any fires that may be a problem.

(Also any suggestions for cool airports to hit!)

So, I’m from New Jersey. I’m trying to hit the lower 48 and I plan on flying to WA sometime next week.

First of all, I’m taking the northern route west bound (15 from Missoula to Spokane) then Brigham City to Bear Lake coming out of SLC so I can hit Utah. This is all in a 150, so I’ll wait for as long as I need to for good weather to do each crossing. VMC obviously, and winds that aren’t too bad. I also plan on getting some mountain flying tips from a CFI in Denver before heading north. This will be when I develop my weather minimums for the crossing.

Now to my real questions - a lot of these TFRs are for fire fighting. I have absolutely 0 experience with flying around wildfires, except when the smoke from the Canadian fires blew south last summer. I do plan on asking the CFI I’ll get in Denver, but I’m not there yet.

How much of a problem will wildfires be? How much of a buffer should I give them? If I just stay clear of the smoke, and don’t fly over them, will I be fine? If it’s a beautiful VMC day and I can just avoid them, great. If I’m IMC, would I be able to tell if it goes from normal clouds to wildfire smoke?

Also, how do I get realtime / same day updates about wildfires? I plan on getting flight following or being IFR as needed, but would certainly like to be able to brief any fires that may be a problem.

(Also any suggestions for cool airports to hit!)