The Times - Serving Waitsburg, Dayton and the Touchet Valley

I grew up in the heyday of Smokey the Bear. Smokey drilled into our heads the message that we needed to stir our campfires until they were dead out, and that we must never ever throw a lit cigarette out our car window.

Smokey doesn’t get the press he once did (he died in 1976, at the age of 26) but his message is as important as ever - perhaps more so.

As The Times’ Dian Ver Valen has been reporting the last couple of weeks, we’re in a drought. River levels are at record lows and temperatures have been at record highs. Grass in the pastures around here is already crispy dry.

As you enjoy this Independence Day weekend, please don’t forget Smokey’s message. Outdoor burn bans have begun, and fireworks should be used with extreme caution.

We also need to give a big thank you to firefighters from Dayton and Waitsburg, who spent a long night Sunday night fighting a spectacular blaze that claimed two homes in Dayton. More homes could have been involved had they not responded quickly.

It’s likely that these public servants have a busy summer ahead of them, even with our best prevention efforts. Electrical storms don’t heed Smokey’s message, and lightning-caused fires in Washington’s forests have already begun. At least 24 homes were destroyed by a wildfire near Wenatchee over the weekend.

We hope you all will have a safe and fun 4th of July, despite the continued hot weather.