I am not the “sky is falling” type of gal … but folks, the sky is literally falling. Despite the smoke and ash, my mental health is best when kept outdoors. I’ve sat on the porch after work every day this week, watching ash fall from the sky and drift onto my clothes, my bare legs, my dinner, and salt my graying hair. As the ash falls, I review lessons learned when we burned.
Over 300 homes were destroyed in 2014, displacing a thousand community members from Carlton to Pateros and disseminating enrollment numbers for one of two school districts that make up the Methow Valley.
“The paradox of trauma is that it has both the power to destroy and the power to transform and resurrect” — this idea from author Peter Levine is apropos to the Carlton Complex fires. Half of the valley responded by improving buildings and landscapes to be more fire-resistant.
Lower valley homes are prime examples of fire wise home protection and fire-resistant landscaping. Green space or gravel surrounds buildings, trees are limbed, and beautifully landscaped yards showcase fire-resistant plants like lavender, penstemon, coneflowers, and lilacs.
I drive through the towns of Twisp and Winthrop every day. I am alarmed at the lack of preparedness shown by homeowners in town. A large lilac bush was cut down to make parking space for an RV. Dry lawns and overgrown weeds fill the open spaces in between dense housing with cracked and dry siding, woodpiles and discarded lumber lay in close proximity to houses. Wooden boardwalks? In this era of dry hot winds and red flag warnings with “significant threat to life or property.”
Many moons ago, I unexpectedly inherited two small houses with renters in a small town. I was unaware of the condition of the homes located a far distance away. The town sent me a notice and a fine for overgrown weeds — not out of a concern with aesthetics; the weeds were a safety hazard. If a little farming town in 1990s rural Idaho can ask residents to step it up, I think eastern Washington could do the same.
If I were an Auntie, I would throw a shoe. Landlords should protect their investment and their customer. Renters should protect their safety. Homeowners insurance can be revoked for not taking minimal preventative measures to care for a building.
Solveig Torvik’s “Hello?” July 30 column was a call-to-action for town leaders and residents. We’ve seen destruction in our communities. As a result of trauma, our community was gifted FireWise resources and education — where is the reciprocity?
One thing the Methow Valley does very well is provide public spaces for people to escape unhealthy air. Numerous Purple Air monitors hosted by businesses and homeowners provide an accurate map of where to find clean air.
Through the heat and smoke, the Methow Store serves as a cooling community space in the Lower Valley. They have a calm atmosphere with good food and music you can dance to. A pair of bicyclists on a long-distance road trip stopped in to get out of smoke. Shayne provided them with N95 masks and arranged transport through TranGO on one of the worst air quality days.
We are rich in this valley with three public libraries and one large community center to provide free N95 masks and a cool respite on hot smoky days, while restaurants and a movie theater are open in the evenings. Learn more at Clean Air Methow, www.cleanairmethow.org/.
