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They've been on some of the national news channels, so I'm sure many of you have heard about the Oregon wildfires (especially some of you in somewhat close proximity..StaryMagic and Narratorway in particular).  We are on a week-long vacation in Sun River which is about 35 miles from Black Butte Ranch, the most recent evacuation site.  The weird thing is, we go on vacation to Black Butte every year and have for the past fifteen years...this is the first year that we were unable to book a house in time since, with fourteen people travelling together, we only had one possible week that would accommodate all of us.  So, we ended up taking a house in Sun River, and what happens?  Our second day here, Black Butte is evacuated, and two homes were burnt down less than a quarter mile from the house we usually stay at.  What a trip.  Right now we seem to be in no immediate danger and it would take more than a week for any fires to get here, but since Oregon's wildfires are now the top fire priorities in the nation (the one threatening Black Butte being the top fire priority altogether), we've got over 12,000 firefighters working, and that number keeps on growing.  It was at 10,000 yesterday.  Well, I was really wondering if anyone had seen us on the national news, since the only times we're ever doing anything important is when we're passing radically liberal bills such as medicinal marijuana or assisted suicide.

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Hey, put the cellphone down for a while
In the night there is something wild
Can you hear it breathing?
And hey, put the laptop down for a while
In the night there is something wild
I feel it, it's leaving me

As long as the wildfire had nothing to do with a medicinal marijuana crop or someone's assisted suicide, I'll pay no attention.

Stay safe and stop by tomorrow! I have a meeting from 8:30 to 10 your time, but I should be around otherwise.

There was a massive wave of forest fires in Quebec a few weeks ago, and the haze and smell of smoke reached our area, many hundreds of kilometers away.  It was insane.

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I close my mouth now and I scream,
Open the door, there's nothing worth redeeming
I saw your face before in rough,
You should wait around a while, your body's bound to turn up.
So low for how high?
-Matt Good, "Running for Home"

Yeah those fires here in Quebec were insane. At one point, because of all the smoke drifting towards the cities from the forests, the sky had turned orange and the clouds were kinda reddish. It was really an odd experience.

I've heard of the Oregon Fires actually, my dad was watching CNN and they mentioned it for a bit. I heard fire, and started listening in.

This is sure to cause some problems in our already screwed up Ecosystem. Keep safe Neal!

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Okay, but there was a goat!