It was a beautiful afternoon. That ended quickly. The sunny day became a sun we can’t see anymore. We’re nowhere near the flames, which are going up mostly on federal lands, but when you’re dealing with so many fires and three of which spanning a combined 550,000 acres (850 square miles) you don’t have to be. The wind that was annoying us earlier by rattling doors and shades was apparently enough to bring it here.
I had to take my contacts out because my eyes sting. Our noses are stuffed up. I took the dog for a walk and half an hour left me winded. Cigarettes are hardly necessary. I’m getting a headache.
Living out here, we’re immune from hurricanes. Tornadoes aren’t much of a concern. Earthquakes are a possibility but nothing of grand consequence. Even blizzards are rare. But everywhere is vulnerable for something.
I washed the cars just yesterday. I’d thought to myself “They’ve halted the work next door, apparently. It’s been a while since we’ve had a fire. The cars are all covered with… stuff.”
Murphy messed up. When you wash your car, it’s supposed to rain.
Living out here, we’re immune from hurricanes. Tornadoes aren’t much of a concern. Earthquakes are a possibility but nothing of grand consequence. Even blizzards are rare. But everywhere is vulnerable for something.
It would be interesting to know what part of the United States is safest from natural disasters. If I had to guess, I’d say that the southern Appalachian region, except in low-lying flood zones, would be safest: far enough inland to be spared the worst of hurricane risks, far enough south to avoid most winter storms, not in an earthquake zone, and as far as I can tell with relatively low tornado risk.
Comment by Peter — September 11, 2012 @ 4:23 pm
1) Sorry that this is happening.
2) I’m glad you guys are ok, but I hope the baby is ok too. If not you might want to leave town for a bit.
3) This has gotten so little attention that this is the first I am hearing about this.
Comment by Scarlet Knight — September 11, 2012 @ 6:31 pm
Thanks for your concern. I asked Clancy about it and she’s not concerned and she is much more apt to be concerned about such things than I am.
The Redstone paper has a headline “Air Quality ‘Unhealthy’” with a picture of a cloud of smoke engulfing the city. They say it’s supposed to be like that until next week. Fun, fun.
I am a bit surprised that it’s not getting a little more coverage than it is if only because one of the patches is not that far from Boise. I guess the winds are being generous as I am not seeing much in their papers about it.
Comment by trumwill — September 11, 2012 @ 9:36 pm
Peter, A few years ago I would have said the High Desert, but not these days.
Comment by trumwill — September 11, 2012 @ 9:51 pm