The western United States is being hit hard by wildfires this summer, and unfortunately these fires have become commonplace in recent years. Experts predict that the warming of our planet means we can expect a lot more of them with our forests becoming tinder boxes.

Sadly, fires no longer burn just land. Hundreds of homes have gone up in flames, since many of today’s families choose to live in remote areas where they can be close to nature and away from the hustle and bustle of city or urban life.

We all recognize the danger these huge fires pose and last week we were all horrified to learn that an Arizona blaze had taken 19 firefighters who, despite their expert training, were unable to survive the intense heat of the fast-moving flames.

While we all are aware of the danger to all the firefighters who willingly fight these wildfires year after year, it really hits home when a tragedy like this one occurs, shattering the lives of so many families.

Those of us here on the Maine coast often feel far removed from the wildfires out west when we look at a map showing how many of these out-of-control blazes are impacting a number of states.

While we occasionally suffer from repressive heat a day or two at a time here in the Northeast, we don’t really understand what weeks of extremely high heat and little or no rain can do to the land. It’s literally a sitting duck if even a small fire breaks out.

Maine has had a couple of devastating fires during the past decade, but it’s a bit hard to fathom what it must be like to live with the fear of losing our home, or being driven from it, at any given moment in time.  Some residents have had barely enough time to escape with their lives and no chance to take anything with them.

We’re glad we escape most of this oppressive heat, and don’t like a prediction we heard 20 or 30 years ago that in a few more decades, New York may be experiencing the same climate that Miami does today. In fact, it appears they’re already getting more of it every year.

Sorry, all you snowbirds who enjoy Florida’s warm temperatures every winter, as far as we’re concerned, we hope you always have to go south, far south, to find them.  

However, to be completely honest, we must admit that we don’t miss the old-fashioned winters of our childhood, and the even more severe winter weather our parents and grandparents endured without complaint. We’ve been spoiled, and we’re pleased that heavy snowfalls such as the bad storm this past winter are now few and far between here on the Maine coast.

Maine’s cool summer breezes and frequent rainfall, along with its ever-increasing milder winters, make it pretty special, in our book. Guess we’ll stick around here for the balance of our time on earth.