EDITORIAL: The season we should live without

In some parts of the nation there are more than four seasons.

Vermont, for instance, features Stick Season — the sad refrain after autumn’s glorious leaf solo. Countless acres that were moments before splattered with vibrant color stand stark, brown and bare in Stick Season.

Elsewhere you’ll encounter Mud Season, the knee-deep mucky mess that follows winter’s glistening white majesty until true spring comes to the rescue.

And here we have Smoke Season, a period in late summer and early autumn when our clear skies are choked with potentially hazardous thick smoke from wildfires. 

Not so long ago, bluegrass stubble on the Rathdrum Prairie was intentionally burned to put nutrients back into the soil. For a number of days plumes of smoke ascended and some of it infiltrated the lungs of vulnerable citizens. 

But what we face in Smoke Season now makes those aerial assaults seem pretty petty by comparison. Especially with the recent heat waves, Smoke Season 2024 looks likely to be a nasty one, as we're already finding out. 

For many years now, The Press has editorialized ardently for increased investment in fire prevention measures, including thinning the overgrowth in forests that almost instantly turns modest fires into out-of-control infernos. While Congress and state officials have taken some steps in the right direction, it hasn’t been enough. 

That’s why a recent opinion piece from the Mountain States Policy Center caught our eye and captured our hopes. 

Penned by MSPC researcher Sebastian Griffin, the column highlights California’s use of Artificial Intelligence-trained cameras to spot fires and alert authorities, often more quickly than humans can. In some cases, even a few minutes advance notice can mean the difference between inconvenience and outright catastrophe.

Notably, Griffin encourages oversight and transparency in applying AI as a powerful supplement to more traditional wildfire prevention approaches. 

“States like Washington, Wyoming, Montana, and Idaho should be looking to replicate California’s success by adopting similar technologies and strategies,” Griffin writes, and The Press agrees.

Here’s the full column: https://shorturl.at/1t7fb

And here’s hoping our annual, awful fifth season soon becomes a historical footnote.