Whatever I have suffered for months, people in Montana have it far worse.
If my job were only about fires and how the smoke moves, it would be simple. Not easy, mind you: Wildfire smoke is flashy and weird, and if anyone tells you they can reliably predict its behavior, they’re lying. It’s just that purely focusing on the science would be fun for a smoke nerd like me.
But in July, thunderstorms trekked across western Montana, igniting a ring of fires around Missoula County. One by one, they started blowing up, smothering small towns in smoke. The massive Rice Ridge Fire burns directly above the community of Seeley Lake, and every night, smoke fills the valley, building by the hour and creating dangerous breathing conditions the likes of which we have never seen. To our south, the Lolo Peak Fire sends daily smoke to the Bitterroot Valley, creating frequently hazardous, unbreathable air for its residents. Never have we seen so many wildfires so close to home for so many weeks.
www.washingtonpost.com/…
Montana is situated in the center of drought country.
Rainfall and snowfall on the West Coast often do not make it past the Cascades and the Rockies to shower moisture on unfortunate Montana.
Also, I suspect Montana is especially susceptible to dry thunderstorms which start wildfires by random lightning strikes, with no accompanying rainfall to dampen down tinderwood.
Montana is especially vulnerable to climate change. I hope they remember that when they vote and that they do not choose to vote for climate-change-denying fools.