The Oregon Wildfires Are Destroying My Community

Oregon wildfires have burned over 1 million acres (source)

I was working at the hospital when my coworker got the text.

“I need to evacuate my home right now,” she said as she grabbed her purse to leave. The town of Molalla, where she lives, had upgraded to Level 2 evacuation. She went home to help her husband, daughter, and mother leave as fast as possible, fleeing to her brother’s house before the wildfires reached her home.

As I walked out of work that day, I snapped a photo of the sky, which took on an orange glow from the sun and thick smoke covering the sky like a blanket.

From the east, it was dark with thick billows of smoke from the forest fires. To the west, it was a clear, blue sky — what it should have looked like if it were a typical day.

But it wasn’t a typical day. Hell, it hasn’t been a typical year. As if the coronavirus — and all the political crap that’s gone with it — weren’t enough, now we had another reason to fear the air.

Amber sky from high smoke (source)

The next morning, the sun peaked over the horizon for a short time, until it rose above the smoke high in the air. It created an eerie orangish-red glow, and I drove to work again with a mask in hand to wear…