I mean this in no way to diminish the destruction of hurricane Harvey and the human suffering it has wrought but I'm a little tired of seeing it 24/7 when other areas of the country are suffering their own natural disasters.
We are in a severe drought in my neck of the woods. We've had no rain since late June and everything is parched beyond belief. And burning. It has been going on for months. Not days or weeks - months! The air quality is horrible - often dangerous. Your throat and eyes burn, everything smells of smoke. The sun and moon are blood red in the haze. When you can see them.
Occasionally a dry thunder storm blows through and it's lightening starts up a whole new batch of fires. Fronts come through with their breezes and spread them. The map to the upper left shows the active fires as of today in Washington, Oregon, Idaho, Montana and beyond. There is no relief in sight for at least the next week and temperatures are hovering in the 90s and higher in many places. Imagine fighting those blazes with the required gear and clothing. One must have a tolerance for heat, that's for sure. And yes, those responders are every bit the heros as those on the Gulf Coast.
Yes. People are losing their homes, towns are being evacuated, livestock and wild life are burning to death. Our forests and farmslands are being decimated. What assets that are available all go to fighting the fires which won't be totally out until snow flies - if it flies.
Now understand, out here in the west this is an annual occurrence. Every summer we burn yet we see little in the national media about it. I see no celebrities nor sports stars contributing big bucks nor organizing fund raisers for those afflicted. It affects the people in these areas no less than the flooding in Texas.
Maybe Congress would increase the fire fighting budget if they did. It's totally depleted. There are no more fire crews. The fire season is no where near being over.
So how 'bout it media guys? Give our plight some attention too. You'll find the people no less thankful, the hospitality just as gracious and even the countryside, what's left of it, quite beautiful.
We could use the exposure too. We aren't east coast centric so it's more difficult to get the word out. So, in that spirit - HELP!!!
