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Smoke colors the sunset. |
Only once have we been threatened by wildfire. I looked out the kitchen window to see smoke blowing up the road, and the smell was thick and heavy. The wind shifted almost as soon as I discovered the smoke, so we were fortunate. The fire was just over a mile from us.
A few years ago someone stopped at my front gate and said "your horses are on the road." I thanked him and went out to get them, only to find that they weren't mine. Eight sorrel horses were grazing on the grass at the side of our dirt road. I knew no one on our road had eight sorrel horses, but I called around to see if someone knew their owner. No one did. Unfortunately I had no place to put them, even if I were able to catch them one at a time and move them, so there was nothing I could do but pray that they would be safe. After a near miss with a car that crested our hill and a driver that wasn't paying close attention to the road, I called the county sheriff to report them. By the time the sheriff arrived the horses had drifted off, back down the road in the direction they had come. I'm convinced they were displaced by a large wildfire a month earlier, and I hope that their owner was eventually able to find them. Who knows how far they might have wandered in a month.
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A fire behind the ridge |
Fire has always terrified me. Then we had the barn fire, and strangely enough I'm calmer about wildfires now. On days when we have Extremely High fire danger, I keep a close eye on the horizon. If I see smoke, I determine the wind direction by facing the wind and turning slightly until I have the wind blowing directly onto my face. If the fire is not in my field of vision, I tell myself that we aren't in danger. If I can smell the smoke, and can see the plume in front of me, I'm on alert and keep a close eye on the situation. We do have an evacuation plan.
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Do you have an evacuation plan in case of emergency? Have you ever had to use it?
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Grassland wildfires are so fast and dangerous. Any faint hint of smoke has neighbors calling each other to determine the location. I have sheltered in place for the couple fires that have gotten real close. I set sprinklers around the horse barn and house. A backpack sprayer will fight a bunch of grass fire...good investment
ReplyDeleteMy boyfriends father's house narrowly escaped being burned down last summer because a man down the road ran over and sprayed their roof and fields with their hose for hours. Teaches them to go on vacations all the time! They didn't even know until a week later... Their house could have been gone when they got back!
ReplyDeleteThank goodness for good neighbors!
ReplyDeleteLiving in a forest here in Northern California, we are well aware of the threat of wildfires. Unfortunately, there are still a lot of people who don't prepare a defensible space around their homes, so the firefighters have to spend more time protecting these homes while the wildfire spreads. :( A lot of our wildfires are caused by lightening strikes. However, the majority are caused by careless humans (campfires out of control) or by electric power lines. We are busy clearing a lot of vegetation in a circle around our property as a fire break. However, here in the forest, there is a fine line between being fire safe and providing a natural habitat for the forest animals and critters.
ReplyDeleteYou're right, Vickie. A defensible space is key.
ReplyDeleteI had never even thought of making sure there is more than one way out! I hope those horses found their way home. Fire is SO scary.
ReplyDeleteThanks for sharing this on The Maple Hill Hop!
I hope they did too, Daisy.
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ReplyDeletewildfires are scary, but I do have to say that your pictures are beautiful! I found your blog on back to basics linky party, and I am sending you a link to my family travel blog. hope you stop by :)
http://karanandmichael.blogspot.com/2013/07/why-we-love-cruising.html
I'm glad you stopped by, Karan, and thank you. I'll go check out your blog too. :-)
ReplyDeleteI lived in Southern CA as a toddler and remember my mother talking about the fires while we were out there. So Scary. Thank you for sharing with the Clever Chicks Blog Hop! I hope you’ll join us again next week!
ReplyDeleteCheers,
Kathy Shea Mormino
The Chicken Chick
http://www.The-Chicken-Chick.com