Smoke Gets In My Eyes!

I took this first picture on August 31st. I was upset with the smoke the wildfires were creating but thought, "Well, at least the smoke creates beautiful sunsets!"

Little did I know, that night was the last time I would see our beloved Bitterroot Mountains!  Today, I took this picture.  The sad thing is, this is the most visibility we have had the entire month of September!  But notice...still no mountains.

Every day the kids get on to todaysair.mt.gov to see what the smoke level is at.  Green is good; Yellow is moderate;  Orange is unhealthy for sensitive groups; Red is unhealthy; Purple is very unhealthy and the Maroon...well they say it is "hazardous" but in our family we say, "Maroon means everyone is pretty much going ot die!" 

I can't tell you how many mornings we have woken up to "PURPLE" this month!  

Cross Country has now become an indoor sport and Football and Soccer...well, they are almost non-existent.  Everyone is being affected by the smoke in one way or another.  One night the smoke was so bad that it set off our fire alarms!  (I had accidentally left the bathroom window open)  People are coughing, sniffing, sneezing and everyone's eyes feel gritty.  I even had to miss church because my allergies had taken over my whole being!  I need FRESH AIR!  I worry about the sisters in our ward who struggle with health issues...many have left the state in search of fresh air.  I always tell them to breathe some for me.  This type of weather is really bringing us down as a town.  Oh, what I wouldn't pay to see some sunshine!  We all have cabin fever of varying degrees.  The kids are not allowed to have outdoor recess and I can't even enjoy an evening stroll without paying for it later with another round of spasmodic sneezing.  

Don't even get me started on our "Fire Watchers".  Yep, that's right, in our state we don't have firefighters, we have firewatchers.  With the "Let It Burn Policy", our firefighters who are normally very brave and capable, are not allowed...by LAW...to do anything about the fire unless it threatens homes.  Seriously!  They have skirted the fire around the homes of the people who were evacuated several weeks ago but other than that...NADA! 

I woke up a couple of mornings ago in a panic.  As I bolted out of bed to see what was burning, I quickly realized, "Oh yeah, we live in Hamilton!"  I had once again inadvertently left my bathroom window open.  I am so tired of our valley being a gigantic bonfire.  More than that, I am afraid when the smoke clears....will my mountains still be there?