Poet Krystal Languell was the first witness to this drawing, at the Jentel Artists Residency, Banner, Wyoming, April 2024. Afterwards she sent me this text:
"Our guide told us coal seam fires occur naturally. According to a 2005 article on the Smithsonian’s website tagged “climate change,” the truth seems to be that, like a lot of phenomena, these fires occur both naturally and otherwise. The town of Centralia, PA was relocated due to an unquenchable coal fire. Twelve holdout families refused the federal buyout and remained. Among them, they elect a mayor. God, I love holdouts. A coal seam fire in New South Wales, Australia has burned for more than 6,000 years. I notice a daycare on the grounds of a junkyard, plastic Fisher-Price toys cluttering the fenced-in dirt lot."