The brutally hot weather, with temperatures soaring into the 90s across Washington state, is a reminder that the world is changing. Things such as wildfires miles and miles away from us, of which we have no control, can impact us. Not that that’s news.

But weather news is becoming big news.

So, for a moment, let’s remember another big-news weather moment that occurred only 24 months ago here in our own backyard. That’s when the City of Port Townsend’s water supply in Lords Lake was in trouble because of a historic low snowpack that winter.

On Aug. 3, 2015, the Port Townsend City Council approved Ordinance 3121, which declared three stages of an emergency drought response plan. Note the word emergency. Luckily, the city never did get past the first stage of a voluntary reduction in water consumption.

While the skies above us have been smoky in the past week, and may remain so this week, at least the water in the two Quilcene rivers is still flowing and supplying us with enough liquid to quench our thirst and keep gardens lush. Lords Lake is full today.

Still, there was a reminder in the most recent water bill to be careful about watering lawns. It’s a sign of being green-savvy to allow your yard to go brown. And practicing conservation now should put us in good shape for the future.

Of course, it’s not just the families that need to practice conservation. The biggest consumer of water in Jefferson County is the Port Townsend Paper Corp. The mill, which is Jefferson County’s largest private employer, uses as much as 10 million gallons of water a day, compared to the 1 million gallons a day used by the rest of Port Townsend.

Two years ago, mill managers were smart and moved their annual maintenance shutdown up to October from November, which helped on the use of water at a critical time. Mill officials also rented cooling towers to reduce use and they rented pumps in the event that the level of water in Lords Lake fell below the spillway.

The rains came that fall, and by winter of 2016, Lords Lake was back in good shape.

So, here we are in 2017 – what should we be doing about weather news?

We should take a moment to reflect on what’s happening now, what happened in the not-so-distant past and mark Aug. 20 on the calendar as a day to get prepared.

That’s the day of the All-County Picnic at H.J. Carroll Park, a day that Jefferson County sets aside to celebrate the idea of neighborhood emergency preparedness.

It could be a hot day. There should be plenty of water. Expect free food, music and information about how to plan for an emergency.

The world is changing, and we have to change with it. We need to pay attention to the how we use our finite resources and we need to pay attention to what’s happening in our backyards and beyond.

And we need to be prepared to weather the weather news.

– Allison Arthur