Joe, and to anyone who is focused so intensely on the fires in our backyard that we are forgetting about what's going on around us. I hope the NYTimes is still allowing access to this amazing, broad, collection of photos of the fire fights going on up and down the west coast. The last I looked there were at least 40 photos.
https://www.nytimes.com/article/wildfires-photos-california-oregon-washington-state.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=HomepageJust think, 1/2 million people in Oregon had to be evacuated. 1/2 million. My brother and his family, in Salem, Or. is safe, but evacuees are filling the fairgrounds right near him. I thought the 80,000 that had to be evac'd during the Blue Cut Fire was a lot.
My friend on Whidbey Island has to wear an N-94 mask to walk her dog because the drift smoke from the fires in CA and Oregon is so strong. My friend in Nova Scotia send me photos of the sun rising in a deep orange haze because of our smoke. Our smoke has reached Europe.
These are highly unusual, and incredibly challenging times and resources up and down the coast are doing their best esp. since they are spread so thin. We all need to get out of our bubble that makes us, and our fight, the center of the universe. It's not.
Yes, saving the billions of dollars of scientific equipment and communications on Mt. Wilson is a prime focus...not just for us but for all of CA and the world, really. And saving whatever we can of the forest, farmland, animals, trees that give us oxygen and food is saving all of us...our ecosystem, not just humans. All of us life forms need the ecosystem to survive. There is a larger relational picture here.
I was an emergency responder for a number of years, out in the field. My life was at risk. I did it for others. Not for me. If you are willing to put your life on the line for your community-at-large, the way Jim and I have, or the incredible pilots flying the planes, or the young hot shot who just lost his life in the fire, then do it instead of continually criticizing that others aren't doing their jobs or making the wrong decisions. Perhaps obsessing on supporting the men and women who are facing these infernos by helping out at Jensens or elsewhere to make sure the troops are getting supplies would be a better use of your wonderful energy. There are so many positive ways to help including getting out of the village early so the first responders don't have to worry about us or risk their lives even further trying to save us.
Again, I hope the NYTimes still allows access to these photos. Another way to be mindful of the big picture is to go to the community/city newspapers, online, see their photos and read/hear their stories. All in the middle of Covid. We should be so grateful people are willing to put their lives on the line to save us and our communities-at-large.
https://www.nytimes.com/article/wildfires-photos-california-oregon-washington-state.html?action=click&module=Spotlight&pgtype=Homepage
