Monday, April 11, 2016

Unsettling

A couple of weeks ago I was getting ready to start dinner when Pierce asked if I had heard the ambulance go by.  I hadn't.  Five minutes after that I saw a rescue vehicle pass by.  There are only a handful of people who live that direction, so I was wondering what was wrong.  I started dinner when my phone rang - my parents.  They saw on the news that there was a brush fire out of control on our road.  From that point, things quickly escalated.  Here is my first view of the fire, taken from my driveway, with my cell phone.  The sun had already set, so this wasn't an effect of the sunset.  Rescue vehicles and trucks were passing by our house at a rapid pace.

Next thing I knew, a helicopter was hovering in the front yard.  It seemed to want to land in our horse pasture until Francie pitched a huge fit in the pasture.  Turns out she doesn't care for giant sky monsters. Instead, it landed in the pasture next to the horses.  This picture was taken from the house.  The helicopter is on the top left.  It tried to take off with a bucket of water a number of times, but the high winds had it rocking in the sky, and it kept having to land.
 We watched the news and the smoke and the rescue vehicles rushing by anxiously that evening before going to bed.  One neighbor lost a very nice barn/cabin building to the fire.  Thankfully the winds died down that night.

The next day things were quieter, aside from all the vehicles and news crews rushing up and down the road.  Our road saw more traffic that day than it had in the past year combined.  I went out to hang some laundry and noticed the wind was picking up again and becoming gusty.  It wasn't long after that before rushing fire trucks and sirens were flying past our house again.  I walked outside to take this shot of the smoke returning.


 I took these pictures standing in my driveway, monitoring which way the wind was blowing.  Thankfully for me and my close neighbors, it was primarily blowing the opposite direction.  But the smoke was unsettling. 
Then the helicopter returned.  You can see it in the top right corner above.  This time the bucket (which is below the tree line) was working, and they found a better location for water retrieval from a neighbor's pond.

You can see the smoke starting to infiltrate the woods on our side of this mountain ridge. 

We were all so relieved when things finally got back under control.  In all, over 150 acres burned, but no one lost their home and no one was hurt.  I hope that brush fire never comes that close to my house again! 

26 comments:

Sunnybrook Farm said...

I saw it on TV but it seemed to not be heading toward you so figured you had everything under control. We have people here who just have to burn stuff and one was burning that day. I seldom burn anything and don't really understand the law saying that it is legal after 4pm which is how your fire started.

PioneerPreppy said...

Thank God you live in a more lush hardwood forest area. Keeps the fires a bit more contained than out West. We had one near us a couple years ago that almost took out four of my hives when I kept them down the road. Scary stuff.

Steve Surratt said...

Wonder if the neighbor that started it got a fine or had to pay for all the problems he created?

Vera said...

That must have been one scary experience, Lisa, and I am so pleased that the fire did not get too close. I think that I would prefer the river flooding over our fields that have a wild fire coming our way.

Nancy Chan said...

Good to know that no one is hurt and no home was lost except for the barn and the burnt surroundings.

Sally said...

Yes, that's very unsettling, Lisa. So glad y'all didn't have trouble and sorry for the homeowner who lost the barn. Fires are very frightening, for sure.

xoxo

Tina Fariss Barbour said...

How terrible! I'm so glad no one was hurt. We had fire risk warnings around here too because of the high winds and dry conditions. Scary!

Betsy Banks Adams said...

Oh how scary... SO glad you are safe... Those wildfires can spread so quickly and are so dangerous....

Take Care.
Hugs,
Betsy

Vicki said...

That had to be unnerving. It is never a good thing when you can watch fire fighting efforts from your own driveway. Glad it didn't get close enough to do you harm.

Anonymous said...

How very frightening. I'm thankful no one was injured but still it was a real tragedy. Some wooded acreage caught fire next door to a house we once lived in. For a long time, our home's interior smelled like smoke.

An Apel a Day said...

Oh Lisa that is horrible! I'm glad they got it under control, but it's still heartbreaking!

Busy Bee Suz said...

Wow. That IS so scary. I'm so thankful everyone in your area was safe.

Tanya Breese said...

wow that is so scary! glad to hear nobody was hurt or lost their homes! thank goodness for those fire fighters!

Debby@Just Breathe said...

Fires can be so scary. We have a lot of them in California. So glad you were safe and that no one was injured or houses were lost.

Buttons Thoughts said...

Oh, that is way too close to home. I am so glad it was caught and put out before it caused more harm. Take care. Hug B

Michelle said...

That is a very scary situation. Though there was some damage, it does sound minimal. Glad to hear you all are safe.

Lin said...

Oh...that is just too close for comfort. I'm glad you are all safe.

Linda said...

Oh dear! That was one of my fears when we lived in Bryce Resort with trees all around us. Here we have more of a firebreak, although we could easily get cut off from civilization if there was a fire on the road that comes in here.

Roan said...

Really too close! We saw smoke in the distance when we were in OK last week. Plus there were lots of areas in different stages of re-growth from previous fires. Scary and so destructive. Glad no one lost their homes or were injuryed.

mail4rosey said...

Definitely scary. I'm sorry to hear your neighbor lost an out building. I'm very glad no one was hurt.

Jenn Jilks said...

This is so scary! We had a fire nearby, but it turns out it was on the other side of the highway, on the other side of the lake. The smoke is scary.
Good thing no one was hurt.

Jean | DelightfulRepast.com said...

I'm glad the losses weren't greater. Fire is so scary, and so many people are careless. Glad you're okay.

Unknown said...

About five years ago, I flew my mother into town and took her to Sedona, Arizona. There was a brush fire similar to this one and helicopters worked three days to douse it. I believe that aerial tankers are far more effective in stopping these fires quickly. Maybe I'm just too practical, but the costs of a plane vs. the loss of land (and often lives and property) is paramount.

Tweedles -- that's me said...

Oh that was a frightening experience! Were glad everything turned out okay for the most part. Smelling smoke and seeing it - it so very sacary
love
tweedles

Lexie Loo, Lily, Liam & Dylan Too said...

That is terrifying! I'm so glad everyone was okay!

Annette said...

How scary! I know the news has been reporting a fire weather watch because everything has been so dry. I hope you don't have anymore scares like that either--not now, not ever. 150 acres is no laughing matter!