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No One Seems Fazed by the Smoke in the Air

The sad and ugly truth of yet another California wildfire season

Michele Maize
6 min readSep 9, 2022
Photo by Thom Milkovic on Unsplash

As I was sitting out in the bleachers last night at a high school football game, the clear skies that usually make for a cool fall night were non-existent. The field is a mile from the Pacific Ocean. This shouldn’t be a normal occurrence, yet it is.

As I sit reminiscing a once crisp night that has turned hot and sticky, the gray skies are dimmed from the setting sun and the moon.

The looming smoke makes its way toward us in both directions. Not one person around me speaks of the elephant in the sky.

This is our new normal in California. I often hear people in other states almost mock us while saying “California is always on fire. I wouldn’t want to live there.”

No shit, Sherlock. Who wants to live in an area with a recurring natural disaster?

Even though I complain about living in the concrete jungle, when the fires begin each year I am thankful that I don’t live in the beautiful country.

The fires won’t reach us but the smoke will. We live about 30 miles from where the nearest fire could take place. Currently, there are fires within an hour’s drive from my house.

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Michele Maize
Michele Maize

Written by Michele Maize

Sober Traveler | Wannabe Vegan | Yoga Addict. Dog-loving extrovert turned introvert. Owner of "The Maze". Editor at Black Bear and Globetrotters.

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