Be prepared
To the editor:
I don’t think we realize what a gem we have in Bainbridge Prepares (“Bainbridge Island drone program gets off the ground,” Jan. 17 BIR).
I’ve been only peripherally involved as an Emergency Management volunteer and have been very impressed by all the people I’ve worked with at Bainbridge Prepares, both city staff and volunteers.
The LA fires show how important situational awareness is, so I was happy to see Bainbridge starting up a drone program to help with that when disaster strikes.
The biggest thing Islanders can do is prepare themselves – follow the simple “Prepare in a Year” guide at www.bainbridgeprepares.org and you will be doing your part to help your family and augment the work of first responders on Bainbridge.
Mike Kelly
Bainbridge
Help firefighters
To the editor:
The Jan. 17 article in the Bainbridge Island Review “6 Kitsap fire teams respond to SoCal tragedy” is a heartfelt reminder that our firefighters are truly heroes. We honor them for this work in Southern California, as well as for their work here.
I also would like to tap into the latent heroism that is inside each of us. When it comes to wildfires, we know that the warming climate exacerbates this horrific threat. So, yes, we need our firefighters to help put out fires. But we need ourselves to be active in preventing this kind of devastation. That means we need more state and federal legislation that helps limit CO2 in the atmosphere and facilitates clean energy implementation.
Our voices matter. When we call and write legislators to support strong legislation and oppose bad legislation, it matters. And when enough voices speak out, directly to our elected representatives, we are supporting our firefighting heroes by limiting the dangerous consequences of unchecked climate change. Those firefighting heroes need us to do our advocacy work.
Bobbie Morgan
Bainbridge
Protect planet
To the editor:
Our local heroes fighting the California wildfires, depicted in your Jan. 17 article, reminds us what it looks like to come together as human beings to solve problems. The heroism and selflessness of our local firefighters was such a heartwarming example of that.
However, the increasing dangers of climate change affect us all. Washingtonians live in the most beautiful area of the United States and our lush trees and vegetation have earned us the “Evergreen” state moniker. It may have been California last week, but wildfires, due to warming temperatures creating drought conditions, will not discriminate. In recent years, from California to Canada, we have witnessed exactly that.
Let’s all be heroes and spread our efforts like wildfires to put out climate change and protect and preserve this beautiful planet for all our future heroes.
Susan Schremser
Bainbridge