By Sam Lambert
On Friday evening, just as the sun set, my eyes started to tear. The constant scratch in my throat escalated to a burn. Red lights pulsed through my windows as the constant thrum of helicopter blades overhead settled into my ears and the smell of burning wood assaulted my nose. My children gathered around me, the anxiety in their voice audible. “Are we safe?” “I don’t know,” was all I had to offer. The woods abutting my home were (and are) on fire.
“Fight or flight?” my body asked me. Logic took a back seat as my senses were overwhelmed by signs of danger. I paused to evaluate the situation, took in whatever information I had available and assessed the immediate, mid, and long-term potential threats to our family, our home, and our community’s safety. We were in fact safe at that moment, but the threat was real and we had to prepare.
We were fortunate, the wind shifted the fire away from residential homes, though by the end of the weekend over 400 acres of our precious woods were burning. I witnessed hundreds of animals fleeing through my yard, a sight I have never seen before, and hope never to again. We took advantage of the warm weather on Saturday to wet down dry brush and leaves. We stayed up to date with information from the experts, who were reporting on efforts to fight the fire from the frontline. We borrowed an air purifier to alleviate the worst of the impacts on our indoor air. We stocked up on birdseed in case the remnants of my native garden pitstop were not enough to sustain refugee birds as they lost their home and food sources. We did the things within our power to protect what we love, knowing that it wasn’t quite enough.
As I prepared for the work week ahead, I could not help but think about how familiar that feeling was. The world is burning. That sensory onslaught of warning signs over the past weeks, months and years, culminated in Wednesday morning’s reality. Many woke up and answered “Are we safe?” with “I don’t know...”
Here is what we do know, however. Our President-elect is not a friend to the environment. The Cabinet forming will work to reverse much of what we have accomplished. And there are steps we can take to avoid the worst of the consequences.
We may not be able to stop the burning, but we can set up firewalls. We can look to the experts for the information we consume and synthesize the data available to us to formulate a plan. We can build a strong defense that includes community and civic organizations, elected leaders, and well, you. The fear is real and it is warranted. Many of you have been a part of this defense system before and it’s exhausting to feel the winds shift and the danger signs flare, yet again. Some of you are new to this, and the urgency you feel is driving you to find some thing, some way, to make a difference. All of us, together, will be critical to containing the damage and fighting for a livable future. As we finish 2024 reflecting on all that we have accomplished, we are well into planning for the work ahead.
Flight is not an option, but taking a deep breath is. You are not powerless. There will be damage, but with the right preparation, equipment, people and knowledge, we can fight back the flames. We will not cede the future, we will seed it.