Driving up or down I5 with a lot of smoke is not fun and it is dangerous. You have people barreling through from Portland and Kali, and the smoke can be like our fogs. If it is still smokey in Oregon, I would drive right up 101 and spend the night in Gold Beach or Brookings. Then you can check which cross roads to take that morning.
Potential fires off the I-5 in California in two weeks IS becoming a concern - we will monitor the situation,stay in touch with all of you good people and be ready to head on up the 101 all the way to Gold Beach. We wouldn't even mind driving all the way up the Coast as far as Lincoln City, then east on Highway 18, except that it is so much slower and the wedding is at 4:00 Saturday.
We got caught Christmas of '92 heading home when the I-5 was closed because of snow from Ashland to Redding, and had to take the 101 all the way home. Slick, slippery, and scary all the way to Ukiah.
Then, this past Thanksgiving, we left Grants Pass Saturday morning at 0600 (having driven from Orcas Island, WA the day before) and it was raining. By the time we got to Ashland, there were semis stuck all over the I-5 on the mountain. Once finally south of the Oregon border, no snowplows because it was a weekend. We didn't get to Redding until 1100. On a trucker's advice we got off the I-5 at Henley, and took the Klamath River Highway into Yreka. Thank goodness for him, saved us a lot of grief, but it was still a mess all the way to Mountain Gate, likewise for the Northbound.
Mr. Inspectorette looked at it as an adventure and fell in love all over again with his Dodge Durango; I was white knuckles all the way ;-)
You posted, "We got caught Christmas of '92 heading home when the I-5 was closed because of snow from Ashland to Redding, and had to take the 101 all the way home. Slick, slippery, and scary all the way to Ukiah."
We got caught in a few of those at Christmas time. One time we actually barely made it from Portland down I5 to where it was closed and went to Newport for 3 unplanned days.
Then, we drove a hell trip in snow, rain and floods until we got to Willets. Scary! That was on New Year's Eve. We got one of the last motel rooms in Willets, and the clerk called the Taco Bell to keep them open for us and a few others. Nothing else open.
My poor wife had a new dress for New Years and wanted a nice dinner. I told her that we were lucky to get to eat at Taco Bell. She agreed and the food was good. We had eaten at Brookings and it was close to 10pm, and we were starved.
After that we told our son in Portland, we would pay to fly him down for Christmas, we were too old for winter trips up and down I5.
I'd take the 101 all the way up. Probably a bit slower but if you are on it early you won't have to deal with the smoke nor to much traffic. Then take hwy 20 East from Newport to Albany, then North on I-5 then take the 205 into Washington. Just my opinion but I'd try to stay as far west as I could thru southern Oregon. Have a good safe trip.
EBUCK