Matt Perry @perrygeo@qoto.org

The flip side to this: I know everyone is stressed. I too would like more information.

But it's an active wildfire of 200,000 acres. Let them do their jobs and convey whatever info they can. Make rational decisions based on that info.

Spamming the public forum with irrelevant bullshit is actively making the situation worse.

I'm currently in a voluntary evacuation zone due to the #CameronPeakFire in northern Colorado. Family and I are staying at the house with the car packed on high alert.

Last night, there was a "Cameron Peak Fire Community Meeting" held exclusively on Facebook. I watched via my wife's account and the comments were disturbing. Keep in mind, this is a rapidly evolving situation with 1200+ firefighters battling hot, dry and windy conditions.

The facebook live comments were centered around the following themes:

- "What's the status of <area already discussed in depth>"
- "Antifa started the fire"
- "Trump is letting the fires burn for his political benefit"
- "STFU about conspiracy theories and pay attention people"
- "Is my vacation house in <nowhere near the fire> safe? Answer me now!!"
- "I can't hear the sound. Fix your mics. Doesn't the forest service have any IT people?"
- "How long has the fire been burning? You're a bunch of idiots for not being able to put it out."

There were rare comments of clarity amongst residents with pertinent information. But it was drowned out by the stupid. Sigh. How do you get people to understand climate science when you can't convince people to listen to basic information from authorities in a time of crisis?

I left "social media" earlier this year. Hoping mastadon and qoto.org are an improvement over my experiences on facebook, reddit and twitter 🤞