Extreme

It had been a rather quiet winter, no big storms, no week long deluges. The beginning of springtime had been fairly normal until everything wasn’t.

Upheaval seemed everywhere. We have been deluged, not with rain but with information/mis-information and downright lies. The gift of ‘spin’ made fortunes for some, others were nearly or completely wiped out. Businesses large and small suffered along with individuals. Millions were hunkered down and bored to tears while other millions were kept so busy they were exhausted.

Slowly at first, our quiet winter changed to storm after storm of this information blowing at us from all sides. Nature was silent in the background, plugging along through the spring and into the summer with days of small dampness but not enough rain to catch up with the last few years of dry seasons.

In the Pacific Northwest we are now in the extreme. Nature has dried the land, left the ground parched and thirsty, and the dangerous east winds are taking small sparks and flinging fire across many areas. The forests are closed to humans now, except for those fighting the fires.

From our District Forester,

Just a quick note. Tomorrow is another absolutely critical fire weather day. Min humidity is forecasted at 5-15%. That is again explosive. East winds continue, although just slightly diminished from today. As you have seen all over the news, protection agencies are overwhelmed.

 

What I’m saying is, don’t cause a wildfire. If you go to the woods, do so to prevent the public from causing a problem. Don’t operate spark creating equipment. We can’t really staff anything beyond initial attack with any force, and can’t really get any help from the larger system. Just a couple more days everyone.

The deluge is not with wet, but with fire. We are no longer thinking about how much work there is to do, we are thinking what can we do to help, minimize the danger and care for those who need it. There are evacuations in place throughout the Pacific Northwest. This is a serious day.