Anyone on this side of the state knows something about the late summer-migration phenomenon. With the first day of school looming large on the calendar, it’s tempting to make quick trips across the mountains for a weekend of warmth.
Eastern Washingtonians generally welcome us and the tourism dollars we bring, with thousands of us willing to tolerate the horrific weekend traffic in the pass to travel to the sunny side of our state. But they’re probably cringing at the other things we bring with us: matches, lighters and burning cigarettes. The threat of wildfires must be on their minds as often as the threat of rain is on our minds.
Mother Nature really doesn’t need any assistance in this area; she’s perfectly capable of igniting wildfire on her own. Each day eight million bolts of lightening strike the earth and there have already been several lightening-related fires in our state this year with plenty of hot and dry weather still ahead.
Most won’t need to be reminded that last summers’ deadly Thirty Mile Fire was started by an errant campfire. Four firefighters lost their lives in the blaze that raged out of control. An improperly extinguished fire is also responsible for this year’s huge Deer Point Fire at Lake Chelan near Manson. Although the 40,000-acre fire is in the mop-up phase, it’s proven to be a stubborn foe for firefighters. Those familiar with the topography and vegetation in the area know that wind-whipped wildfire can destroy huge parcels of land and property in a very short period of time.
Unattended campfires and lightning are the frequent cause of wildfire, but the thoughtless act of tossing a lighted cigarette out of a car window can have the same devastating impact. Even though it’s illegal to toss burning matter from a moving vehicle, it doesn’t seem to stop people from carelessly discarding their blazing butts along the side of the road into the tinder-dry grass.
Despite Smokey Bear’s familiar warning, humans can’t prevent every fire. But we certainly don’t need to add to the problem.
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