Three major wildfires have officially grown to thousands of acres in Spokane County since starting yesterday morning (Saturday, August 1st) and are, at least as of writing this, zero percent contained. Hundreds of structures, including many homes, have been lost and evacuations are underway in many areas. These fires, the Fairview Fire in Mead, the Old Trails Fire, and the Autumn Lane Fire, are unfortunately part of what the Washington State Public Lands Commissioner, Dave Upthegrove, is calling “an extraordinary fire season”. There are still months left in what has unfortunately become Washington’s fire season and so far, there have already been more than 1,000 fires that have burnt an estimated 425,00 acres.
If you live in Spokane, the surrounding areas, or any area near a growing wildfire, please listen to authorities on when to evacuate, where to go, and other things. Assistant Spokane Fire Chief Lance Dahl told The Spokesman that people should not turn on sprinklers or hoses, as the water pressure had been affected and that they’re “already running into water issues in some of our water towers and our pumping capabilities because we’re using so much. We have so many in town needing water. … It’s putting a strain on the system.”
It’s not just Washington experiencing wildfires at the moment, with Oregon and British Columbia also experiencing multiple concurrent large wildfires. And that’s just in the Pacific Northwest region; all around the world, wildfires are ramping up and causing death and destruction in their wake. The current federal administration in the US has proven to be not particularly helpful in these situations and has denied two firefighting assistance grants for Oregon and threatened Canada with new tariffs over wildfire smoke drifting into the United States. This absolutely misguided blame and utter stupidity from the Trump Administration sadly falls in line with everything else that has come out of Trump’s first and second terms. There is a lot that causes wildfires and while local, state, and federal governments in both Canada and the United States are culpable for a lot of mismanagement over the last century, finger-pointing and financial threats aren’t exactly the best way to handle this current situation. Arguably, those are some genuinely terrible ways.
These wildfires are a part of the larger climate crisis we have been facing for decades now. Flooding, wildfires, droughts, powerful storms. All of these disasters and more are all interconnected and drastically increasing. We’re seeing wetter winters with less snowfall that results in drier summers. Wealth and privilege will always play a role in how climate change affects people – with those in more impoverished countries bearing the weight of it all. But eventually, it will come for us all. There’s a quote that’s gone around social media: “Climate change will manifest as a series of disasters viewed through phones with footage that gets closer and closer to where you live until you’re the one filming it” (unknown).
So what can we do?
It’s easy to fall into climate doom. But there is hope and we all can do something. Holding that balance between the objective reality that things are really, really bad and having hope in a better world is hard but it needs to be the catalyst for sustained change. If hope isn’t enough, find some reason to keep fucking going (pardon my french). Personally, spite is an easy motivator. Do it to spite someone or in spite of all the bad.
Support those who’ve experienced loss or tragedy because of the climate crisis. Donate clothes, household items, and food for those who lost their homes in a disaster. Things in Spokane are still unfolding but with hundreds of homes destroyed, there are now a ton of people who lost everything and need help getting back on their feet. The Red Cross, Partners Inland Northwest, and the YMCA of the Inland Northwest are just some places that are offering help, be it places to stay or items. There will likely be plenty of GoFundMes and other personal fundraisers made in the next few days and weeks for those affected; like with anything, it is always good to do a little research to make sure the fundraiser is going to a person/people directly affected. KHQ Local News has a list of GoFundMe links that have been verified by GoFundMe as legitimate.
Participate in your local community, economy, and politics. The state and federal governmental levels are important but so is your local government. By buying local, you also decrease fossil fuel consumption (as goods have less to travel to get to you!), keep more money in the local economy, result in better public services, and more. Local politics are also important because they determine how our cities and counties are run. Detroit, for example, has progressive zoning policies that have allowed for 1,400 community gardens and farms in the city. Those policies are great for the environment and communities and help with food insecurity and food deserts. City governments play a big role in urban development, including on urban trees, and who we vote into local office can influence policies that then directly affect us.
Stop using AI and learned language models for everything. It’s so, so important for so many reasons to stop using “tools” like ChatGPT. The AI data centers are syphoning massive amounts of drinking water, creating a ton of pollution and noise, and are increasing energy bills for everyone. You don’t need AI to help with writing emails or seeing what you would look like as a talking dolphin or act as your therapist. Personally, I’m more than happy to make up stuff that sounds real and I use a lot less water, I’m more likely to be correct, and I’d accept payment in the form of a single pickle. And if you use it to create art of any kind because “you’re not an artist/have no talent” or “it’s too hard”, we need to have a serious conversation about expectations and perseverance. Becoming “good” at anything takes time and you’re going to be bad it at first; art is no exception.
There is, of course, a lot more that we can all do. Little things, like upcycling old, ratty clothes instead of throwing them out or participating in beach cleanups, can and do make a difference. It’s a cliché but still true that not everyone can do everything but we can all do a few things to make a difference.
