I woke up to the faint but unmistakable smell of wood smoke. I knew it couldn’t be a neighbor burning garbage or someone having a campfire, and nobody would be using a wood stove this time of year. As soon as I walked out my back door, the smell filled my nostrils. The sky is hazy, and there’s not a cloud in the sky or anywhere in the forecast.

My dad called me later last night to tell me that he and my little brother planned on staying the night near Jackson, camping. He told me that there was no way the fire would ever get to our house. It’s gotta be close enough if I can smell it. I’ve seen hazy skies from distant wild fires plenty of times before, but I never smelled the smoke. And I NEVER saw the giant column of smoke before. Today’s humidity is 53%. That gives me some fraction of ease.

Even if the wild fires don’t reach me, I can’t help but think of a few of my friends who are much closer to the fires… I have at least one friend who I know is in Colorado right now, and another who is close to there. He told me that he saw the column of smoke 2 days ago. I keep hearing about new Wyoming  fires, and how they can’t get the Colorado fires under control. I wonder what is happening to my friend in Boulder… I haven’t heard from her in a little while. The world is burning all around me, and no one seems to be able to stop it.