Fire, Fire Everywhere
In case you hadn't heard, Obama officially declared a state of emergency for Washington State, which is on fire. Three firefighters died in a horrific accident when flames overtook their vehicle, and that hit very close to home for me because my older brother is a wildland firefighter. The flags here are flying at half-mast today, to honor them. The state is so low on firefighters that they've recruited the military troops from Joint Base Lewis-McChord and asked for volunteers for the first time ever. The air quality here is so bad that it's at 287 (300 and over is considered hazardous). I'm pretty safe where I live in the Spokane city limits, but it's still so scary. The city smells like a campfire, no matter where you go. The light from the sun is distorted into an eerie yellow haze that makes it impossible to tell if it's 9 AM or 5 PM. I feel suspended in a smoky, timeless limbo. It's very unsettling.
Australia, New Zealand and Wisconsin are sending firefighters to help out with the chaos. That's amazing to me, and it's so very appreciated. That's a long, long way to trek to help out, and I know they'll probably never see this post, I just wanted to put my appreciation out there.