Yesterday, we had some severe storms blow through our area. One side effect of that was a wildfire out between the airport (not a huge one) and the golf course/Country Club (also not a huge one). Local fire departments alongside state forestry units got the fire mostly under control, though it did jump a firebreak today and burn some grass.
Now, a note that’s worth remembering: “Fire under control” does not mean “fire out.” In this case, it was mostly contained by fire breaks and then the wooded area was burning out. That’s actually a safer situation than sending people in among burning trees and hoping they can put them out without flaming branches falling on living humans. It does, occasionally, mean more trees burn than you’d like but fewer people die with it. Forest management is harder than it sounds. (Also, note: it’s necessary because humans live closer and more intertwined with the forest than we used to.)
While a post in praise of firefighters and emergency management wouldn’t be misplaced, that’s not where we are. Where we are this:
By 9 this morning, I saw a half-dozen social media posts stating that the airport had been destroyed, the country club destroyed, the golf course blackened to nothing.
Folks, please, please, remember that no matter the crisis, there is just no way you can make it better by spreading rumors. A rumor is anything that you heard but had no way to validate and that you cannot put people back on the source.
One of the big failings of that last 20 years is that most news sources are now rumor-reporters. Any time you see a news article lead with “sources are now saying that…”, you’re seeing a rumor trying to be turned into a news report.
Now, it’s not impossible that by the time this fire actually goes out, there will be serious damage. After all, we haven’t had significant rain in more than a week, everything’s dry and hot, and fires love dry and hot. But overall, you’re not helping.
This is also applicable in many, many situations. Rumors are like weeds that grow, starting off looking like a good plant. Then, they are taking space and energy that should go to useful things.
Oh, and when you are a person who is mainly a rumor-starter? Your credibility goes downhill pretty quick.