Peter Sachs

About 183 people have asked me to talk about the smoke from Canada coming into New York, New Jersey, and other Eastern States... #wildfire #NY Ok, here goes… *Seinfeld voice: “What’s up with all that wildfire smoke?” If you live in these areas, welcome to what Salmon, Idaho was all last summer. Literally months. Welcome to small town Montana. Welcome to the Utah Valley. Welcome to the Pacific Northwest in August. Welcome to Happy Camp, California. Welcome to Earth… There are a lot of fires burning in Canada. Many are lightning caused but the majority are human caused. Pile burn escapes, escaped campfires, escaped prescribed burns, and yes, arson. There are not a lot of fires burning in the United States. It’s actually one of the slowest starts to fire season in the U.S. in decades. Wildfires happen across the entire planet. It’s a natural cycle that ebbs and flows. Canada is busy this year, others places not so much. This is what wildland firefighters wake up to every day. This is what they work in. They are the ones trying to contain these fires when they happen. Smokejumpers and Hotshots, 6 pack jacked men and women, who sleep in the dirt every night just to wake up and crush up a mountain and work in smoke. The ones that were promised a raise and Congress sits idly by. The ones that were told recruitment, retention, and pay was priority #1. Seemingly not… The ones who are provided subpar food and eat military rations for breakfast. At least you can still get a delicious bagel and lox before you walk through the smoke. *extra capers. So once the smoke clears out, in due time, remember that there are men and women fighting these things. Remember that your representatives have denied them a raise because “other priorities.” Some are trying to help. These representatives are supporting a Bill called Tim’s Act. In long form it’s known as the “Tim Hart Wildland Firefighter Classification and Pay Parity Act”. If you would like to help support these men and women who wake up and work in this type of smoke everyday, contact your Rep. and tell them to support Tim’s Act. The smoke will clear out. It always does. Welcome to Earth.