our view

States from the Midwest to the Northeast spent last week with the orange skies and watery eyes we here in the Rogue Valley know all too well as smoke from wildfires in Canada drifted down and made their lives miserable for a few days.

In response, we are rubbing our thumb against the tip of our index finger — playing the world’s smallest violin to accompany the sob stories that became the lead on national news shows.

We might even throw in a “there there” … if we’re feeling generous.

Still, whatever schadenfreude we might be enjoying will be short-lived. As last week’s spot fires reminded us, fire season has begun, and that means maintaining vigilance in our own backyards.

A White City grass fire sparked by one of the hundreds of lightning strikes in last week’s storms forced an evacuation and left one structure uninhabitable.

Fire officials said that several property owners in the area had taken precautions to ward off approaching flames, while others had yet to do so and presented an easy target.

The half-dozen or more fires that popped up last week should serve as an early warning that there are several steps all of us can take to keep from making a bad situation worse.

On that note, plaudits need to go out to area firefighters who hit the hot spots quickly and effectively. The start of a fire season is not too early to remember that these professionals and volunteers are always headed toward something the rest of us want to avoid or escape.

Despite a winter and spring that have been wetter than seen lately, Southern Oregon — particularly the valley floor — is not out of the woods when it comes to the drought-like conditions that feed the flames.

A final shoutout of thanks to the Jackson County Board of Commissioners and County Administrator Danny Jordan, who wisely severed ties with Josephine County’s ill-informed leadership and decided to go it alone to shore up our emergency preparedness system.

The skies have cleared back East; but if and when they turn orange here this fire season, the benefits of our hard-earned expertise will be ready, willing and able.