1.5 Million Acres Ablaze in the US
By Todd Norman
Yesterday evening as I was driving home, I glanced up at the sky. It was hard not to notice the gray haze that had blocked the view of our towering mountains. What I noticed for the first time was how red and dull the sun looked. The Salt Lake Valley where I live has been covered in the haze of wildfires for near a week now.In the wake of the devistation of Hurricane Harvey and the impending threat of Hurricane Irma, other areas of the US are fighting a very different kind of threat.
As of today there are 51 uncontrolled large fires in the unites states according to today's incident management situation report. Most notably are the fires ablaze in the Montana area, near Oregon and Washington, and in Southern California near Burbank.
The effects of the wildfires range far past the near 1.5 million acres in the US that are directly affected by the wildfires. The fires burn land, and structures causing severe devastation to families and communities and then the smoke from those fires carries across the US.
Where I live, there is a fire around an hour from my house. Even though I am an hour away from that fire and many more hours away from the Washington and Oregon fires, I am still affected. The air in our valley is very polluted. And many people especially older and sick people are the main affected ones. The poor air can cause issues with breathing.
I say this not to take away from the tragedy of homes lost, but to show just how far reaching any natural disaster can be. As unfortunate as it is disasters are often the best calls to action.
Where are you at on your emergency preparations? Do you have a bug-out bag ready to go?
Think about some of these basics to have handy just in case.
- Food
- Water
- Extra clothing
- Important documents
- Extra cash
- N95 masks (Helps prevents you from breathing in harmful smoke)
- Full tanks of gas in your cars
- Extra cans of gas (one of the first resources to come into short supply)
Remember, preparation is a lifestyle choice. When you are prepared you can worry less about those you love. Keep Safe!
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