onfocus

"I’m seeing probably the worst combination of conditions in my lifetime,” said Derrick DeGroot, a county commissioner in southern Oregon’s Klamath County. “We have an enormous fuel load in the forests, and we are looking at a drought unlike we’ve seen probably in the last 115 years.” Asked how worried he is about the 2021 fire season, DeGroot said: “On a scale of 1 to 10, I’m a 12. Nothing looks good."

Yikes.

"The way I’ve framed the thought experiment in recent conversations is this: Imagine, tomorrow, an alien craft crashed down in Oregon. There are no life-forms in it. It’s effectively a drone. But it’s undeniably extraterrestrial in origin. So we are faced with the knowledge that we’re not alone, that we are perhaps being watched, and we have no way to make contact. How does that change human culture and society?"

This scenario is a little too specific. I'm in Oregon and now I'm worried. What does Ezra Klein know?

"Our students in general have been extremely mindful of health issues and I hope that continues, not only for students but for community members throughout the county."

No, the university made the decision to open campus in a pandemic with full knowledge that outbreaks are happening at campuses across the country. They are risking the health of the community and they shouldn’t frame it as up to the students.

"More than a half dozen of the worst fires in the state will continue burning and requiring active firefighting “until winter rains fall,” the state’s expert cautioned."

The fires here aren’t something that will be done quickly.