It comes on suddenly.

A surprise guest with the early summer.

Mild temperature skyrockets to seemingly impossible heights.

An event everyone dreads.

The burden falling on both the body and infrastructure.

Stretching past the point of comfortable.

***

The skin immediately burns.

Grass becomes petrified in place.

A single spark enough to claim fields and houses.

A far cry from the green of the winter.

Dangerous to both humans and wildlife.

Forcing everyone inside for safety.

***

Then the blackouts happen.

Some planned and others not.

Old electric grids pushed to the point of breaking.

Causing chaos for those that need electricity to survive.

The security of a generator a necessity for those warm dark nights.

Hoping that the lights will turn back on.