What is it like experiencing each of these events from such a close vantage point? For months now, people in Portland have been protesting police brutality and anti-Black racism. You're repeatedly shown in these crises how much we've tailored our society to individual self-interest and as a result, how poorly we do as a society when we're faced with a problem that requires the setting aside of self-interest. This is the start of something that I think is scarier than the actual mechanics of any individual fire. And the other is knowing that this is not an anomaly. The first is just the sheer magnitude of what's happening and our complete inability to mitigate it. The summers are constantly getting hotter. There's literally nothing I can do about this situation to make it any better.This might be remembered as one of the relatively small ones compared to what's coming. And stripped you of any individual agency. It's terrifying because it's one of those events that's going to be much more common in the coming years. It must just be scary no matter how old you are. Kate Brown declared a statewide emergency as blazes grew in several counties. The ash is just incredibly evident everywhere… And it felt very apocalyptic.įirefighters prepare to fight nearby wildfires at a Clackamas County fire station on Septemin Oregon City, Ore. When you step outside, there's a fine layer of dust over the car. We haven't left the house except for medical emergencies. Other than medical professionals, he hasn't seen anybody. But it's a situation where we have a 10-day old son, who showed up two days before the fires really got going. It basically means 'go now, don't pack.' We've been fortunate in that we are in the very northern end of the county, so level three never got to us. Most of the county is under a level three evacuation notice - the highest one. Tell me more about how the last week has been like for you and your family. He spoke to The Sunday Magazine's Piya Chattopadhay from his home in the woods of Oregon about how addressing any of these issues will require American society to set aside self-interest. But Canadian author Omar El Akkad, an Oregon resident, is living in the midst of all three - mirroring the climate disaster, disease and political disruption he depicted in his 2017 novel, American War. Now massive and deadly wildfires are raging in California, Oregon and Washington.Įvery corner of the United States is impacted by at least one of these events. Then, the deaths of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd at the hands of police, which sparked protests that are still ongoing.

American war el akkad