K, so I am well aware of the fact that Texas is soggy.
I gotcha there bud.
It's national news, every day, all day.
What isn't national news, however, is the fact that most of western Montana is on fire. This wouldn't be an issue normally, as we have elite smokejumper firefighters, massive volunteer services, Job Corps firefighters, water/slurry air tankers and helos, and a great fire fighting budget.
Except for that last bit...the budget.
You see, the law people of this great state "reassigned" most of the fire fighting budget, seeing as how we had an "abnormally wet" winter. They took taxpayer funds and REASSIGNED THEM ELSEWHERE.
They're gone. THEY'RE ALL GONE. There is no more money to fight fires in Montana anymore. NONE.
Thousands have been evacuated. Massive historic structures have burned to the ground. The National Guard has been active for months. They're building shacks in fire camps, replacing tents. THAT'S how long we've been fighting fires this year.
It's an abnormally dry summer. With every thunderstorm, another 50-150 fires start. 90% get knocked down, but the few that light in the Backcountry (and fuck me blind there is BACKCOUNTRY let me tell ya...) go strong and large, very quickly.
In the last week, we've had 2-3 massive wind fronts come through, making little fires EXPLODE.
Again, thousands have evacuated. The entire town of Seeley Lake emptied. Helena, Missoula, and countless small towns beyond have "Severe" to "Extreme Air Hazard" warnings DAILY. In Butte, today (2 Sep 17), there is a visibility of 1/8 mile OR LESS. That means that driving on the highway is not recommended. Going outdoors is not recommended. Opening windows is not recommended.
Granted, Tumblr/Netflix/xBox has prepared me for this, but still. Damn.
People with health issues have given up and left. I saw no less than TWELVE people wearing those hazmat masks. All the mask filters and face shield are sold out at WalMart.
Outside of local media, I haven't heard a DAMN THING on major news outlets, because "Oh Montana has fires all the time" WELL GODDAMNIT OUR STATE GOVERNMENT REASSIGNED NECESSARY FUNDS BEFORE THEY EVEN KNEW WHAT THE DAMN FIRE SEASON WAS GONNA BE LIKE. Kind of a BIG deal.
