That's the only thing on our minds during this terrible summer of fire. There are fires in every direction around the Missoula Valley, and although here in town we are not threatened, our hearts ache for our friends up the Bitterroot Valley who have been evacuated, or lost their homes, or had to put livestock down because of burns and fire-related injuries. We ache as well for the numbers of wildlife who have not been able to escape the flames. There has never been anything like this in our lifetimes - not, some folks say, since the fires of 1910.
Smoke fills the Missoula Valley constantly, daily.
We have had several Stage II air alerts, but occasionally strong winds have come through which clear out the valley for a few hours. This makes the work of the firefighters particularly difficult, and increases the danger of the fires at least tenfold, even while we breathe fresh air for the first time in days. Here at AdScripts, we have two air purifiers going which make an enormous difference. I know there is criticism because Montana's Governor Racicot blames national environmental policies for many of these fires, but we have to agree with him and back him on this. If you want to prevent fire, you recognize what is happening to a forest when drought decimates it, beetles move in, and two out of every three trees are so severely stressed that their death is not far off - you get that dead fuel out of there, you give the beetles less forest to munch down, you prevent the spread of devastation to other, healthier portions of the forest.