That fire sure is wild!

by shamanic

This morning the city of Atlanta was blanketed in thick gray smoke, blown in from the wildfires in the southern part of the state and north Florida. It's just choking. The smell of it has infiltrated the air system at my office and we're all clearing our throats and coughing. They say it'll dissipate around lunchtime, which is great for us, but I keep thinking of the people who live closer to it. This thing has been burning for a long time now. I know I'm not the only person around with strong respiratory reactions.

Also, in the 12 years that I've lived in Atlanta, with a two year break, this is the first period in which wildfire smoke has been an issue. In my time in Asheville there were fires in the Great Smokey Mountains that would cover downtown each year that I lived there, but this is really a first for me in Atlanta.

It's funny though. I grew up in the South, and nearly every year has been a drought year. But when year after year is a drought year, eventually you have to start considering that you're going to end up a desert. If I wanted the desert, I'd move to Albuquerque.

Sigh. Cough. Sigh.