The choppy sound of blades cutting air came from the east. Soon a large helicopter flew directly over the farm towing a water bucket on a long cable. The cable held a steep pitch, the chopper was moving fast, headed west.
A wicked cluster of thunderstorms ended weeks of exhausting heat with an hour of hurricane strength gusty winds devastating Missoula late last June while igniting dozens of new fires on dry western landscapes.
A small land fire near Lion Mountain was quickly extinguished the week prior, maybe with the help of that same wildfire chopper. Scary stuff, and logging alone hasn’t quenched the dry forest. A while ago, big winds toppled thousands of mature trees near Smith Lake, north of Whitefish.
August is here and wildfires rage the West. It’s early, things change fast in late summer. The bald-faced hornets aren’t even bad yet. Angry August could blow up at anytime, I reminded myself. Lots of heat pending. I felt glad that U.S. Sen. Jon Tester got more resources directed to local communities via his infrastructure law.
Living in small western towns, we enjoy front row seats to the changing landscape of rural Montana. It wasn’t always this hot. Happened quickly, I recalled. Seen much change as I’ve worked the land over the decades.
As I write, the state reports 64 active fires in Montana, six in the past 24 hours. Forty-two in a week. Nearly 100,000 acres burned total. Who knows what the next heat wave brings. More rain would be nice. Lots of it, I pleaded, not so much wind. Thunder cracked loudly. Lightning struck somewhere. Little rain fell. I breathed.
Talked to many local and statewide friends recently and they too were breathing easier. Hope was in the air. Great angst abated, transformed into action. Pete Buttigieg was even saying that Trump-fever is breaking. I don’t know.
As Joe Biden passed the campaign onto Kamala Harris, he cemented Donald Trump as the oldest presidential nominee ever seeking to lead Americans. Harris brings youth, new life into the final months of election season. Exciting times, filled with opportunity and promise of better days.
Biden was good to rural Montana and Indian Country. He saved lives, helped people heal, and invested heavily in rural healthcare, public education, and put historic amounts of resources toward public infrastructure like waterways, roads, bridges, airports and broadband throughout small town Montana. Biden put people to work, creating 16 million new jobs nationwide in less than four years.
Only the knotheads want to go back to days when media was filled with street fights, workers lost millions of jobs, or that constant political chaos. Time to move forward. Reduce prices. Find political stability. Get living.
Dad made sure we knew forward from backwards and how to drive stick. D for drive and R for reverse is the way he’d say it. Dad got us cars and dirt bikes, lots of them. Four speeds, five speeds. On the column, on the floor, or foot shifters. You name it.
We grew up gearheads and rode trail, preferring D over R any day. Only time we went backward was when one of us fell behind. Even then we prefer to wait. Stay together was what mom told her three boys.
Young people today have good reason to stay together and vote in November elections. Ballots are months away and young voters in rural towns like Columbia Falls, Whitefish, Pablo and Browning will set the direction for Montana.
Are you even registered to vote? Lots of young people have been dumped off the voting rolls. Check online at the Secretary of State website or reregister if you moved. Then, vote out the book banners and zealots only in it for themselves.
Went back to the Montana Tap House in Whitefish and listened to Erin Farris-Olsen record a podcast about the Montana Supreme Court Clerk’s vital role serving people, not politics.
Saw friends including former Republican Secretary of State Bob Brown supporting Farris-Olsen in the race for judicial independence. I smiled at the good news. Erin Farris-Olsen is a great candidate for the job, plus she’s super competent.
Mike Jopek formerly served in the Montana Legislature and is now a farmer in Whitefish.