Are more frequent wildfires a wakeup call?

As Americans living in the western the U.S. suffer through another devastating summer of wildfires that negatively affect everyone’s health, we should be thinking about the actual causes of these fires and what we can do to prevent them from becoming an increasingly serious problem in our future. Wildfire smoke and temperatures as high as 107 degrees in Spokane dominate the majority of our summers causing us to stay indoors when we would rather be outside. Credible scientists say that increasing temperatures are the primary cause of increased wildfires and larger wildfires. This seems like commonsense. As you think about who you’re going to vote for next November, ask yourself if you are satisfied with the current political party in power now and if it will ever deal with the actual cause of wildfire disasters. They seem more interested in ignoring real causes, so they can collect cash from wealthy donors to support their re-elections. Turning a blind eye and deaf ears to issues that damage our health is not the way to proceed. One great step in the right direction would be to elect Lisa Brown to Congress and get rid of Cathy McMorris Rodgers.

Kelly Courtright

Deer Park