"In a row of small conservative towns, the flames are unlike anything they’ve seen before. Instead of concerns over global warming, though, there is blame directed at environmentalists, marijuana farmers and potential looters."
"SPRAGUE RIVER, Ore. — Youth pastor Matt Wolff and his wife, Jennifer, followed God’s direction when they settled at the end of a rutted dirt track in the pine forests above this southern Oregon town.
And they have prayed plenty in the past two weeks as the plume of smoke that started beyond their neighbor’s A-frame exploded into the largest of the dozens of wildfires burning in the American West, a conflagration that has already consumed 241,000 acres, destroyed at least 75 homes and other types of outbuildings, and has shown no signs of stopping as hot dry winds continue to scour Klamath County.
But the Wolffs and many of their neighbors in a ribbon of conservative towns and backwoods settlements along the southern edge of the Bootleg Fire have chosen to stay home, despite the urging by authorities to evacuate. For these residents, the anxious days since the fire began have been spent under a thick blanket of smoke, watering down yards and watching the wind for signs the flames could turn their way."
Joshua Partlow reports for the Washington Post July 17, 2021.
