summer of fire

It was a really dry winter here in New Mexico, which means that this summer is going to be all about fire.  The extremely high risk of fires leads to forest closures -- already, most of the National Forests south of us are closed to all use, and I worry that our local forests will follow suit.  It also leads to actual fires, such as the huge fire burning on the NM-AZ border.

(photo from the Seattle Times/AP)

In photos, the Wallow Fire looks almost apocalyptic.  Hundreds of thousands of acres burning, people evacuating, and currently zero containment.

Besides the horror that accompanies any disaster like this, we are also downwind of that smoke column.  All week, our county has been under an air quality alert warning us not to go outside unless necessary, to close our doors & windows (especially if we have children, elderly people, people with respiratory conditions, or pets), not to engage in any strenuous activity.  We've had a little ash, a lot of smoke, and incredibly poor visibility.  At times, I cannot make out the hills behind our house, and as I drive downhill from our town, I cannot see the bottom of the valley below.  I'd take photos, but they'd just show a yellow sky, and brownish smudges...it doesn't really capture the dustbowl effect.

It seems to bother me more than Maya.  She is quite keen on going outside, and very much in favor of strenuous activity. I wake up feeling that my nostrils are clogged with smoke, she wakes up and charges out the door.  I wish I had her ability to take things like this in stride.  As it is, we are restricting our time spent outdoors.  I think it's going to be a boring, indoors kind of weekend, but then, I kind of need one right now.

Maya, on the other hand, is going to wonder why we aren't hiking.  Her sense of smell is millions of times better than my own, but apparently much less delicate when it comes to acrid burning sensations.  Or maybe she just isn't bothered because to her, it's just some smoke.  While I worry about the people in the path of the fire, the firefighters risking their lives, and the many far-reaching consequences of such a fire, Maya just notices that it smells kind of bad, and then goes about her business.  Not such a bad way to be.