Wildfire

I think the first thing I’ve missed since this all started was blue skies. Before the fires that hit Spokane August first, I woke up to twilight and as soon as I left for work after six the blue skies and red ball of our sun welcomed me to a new day. Not anymore. 

The past ten days the skyscape has been a choking hazard of smoke filled with some air to breathe but not much. Today, it appeared the worst is over and I actually saw hints of blue through the smoky haze. 

There is some good news to share about this horrible tragedy. As I mentioned in my last blog post, there wasn’t a known cause, though even I suspected it was intentionally set. The person responsible for this tragedy was Aaron Farinacci, an apparent serial arsonist. 

I don’t regret the heroic actions our first responders committed in the name of saving structures or our woodlands. There were many stories that I listened to or saw on the local news. So many stories of people going into danger to try and save the house of a neighbor, or even complete strangers. 

There are also stories that show our better nature, such as donating millions of dollars to help the displaced and evacuated families, or food or in the case of our tribe, hygiene and toiletries’ items. 

As I told you my loyal readers that we were very lucky no lives were lost in this massive fire. In time, because when it is all said and done, time does heal all the wounds we face in our lives, new houses will be built, made into homes, these tragedies will slowly fade into a distant memory and life goes on. There were many past fires this area has dealt with and overcome, this fire is no different. In the weeks and months to come blue skies will once again grace our area welcoming a new day.