A few cancellations and changes later I found myself joining a lift full of face masked government officials this morning, all complaining about the pollution, and was soon ushered into the governor’s third floor meeting room to await his arrival. The staff were bustling about, telephones ringing off the hook with harried replies; “yes, the fire has been reported,” “the army is on standby with helicopters of water,” “the meeting with the health department is scheduled for an hour,” and “the commander of the army’s third region is arriving any minute.”