Still On Fire

Still On Fire

Today was remarkably quieter than yesterday. The fire seems to be losing speed and fuel, which is excellent. Last night, firefighters were able to successfully conduct controlled burns to buffer residential areas should the fire change direction. The weather forecasted throughout the remainder of the week makes things a little sketchy. Thursday and Friday we are expecting more high winds. The past two days have been considerably milder than Sunday’s. Not only is that fantastic for those fighting this fire, it’s kind of nice to be outside and not feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.

As of tonight the containment has finally gotten higher. We are now 40% contained! I was so excited to read that since we’d been holding onto 27% or less for days. So far, the acreage destroyed is just a couple thousand acres short of 30,000. Comparatively speaking, not too bad when you look at the over half million acres burned in the Wallow fire and over 220,000 in the Horseshoe Fire II. But, unfortunately the Monument Fire has destroyed more homes than both of those fires combined. Not bragging, it’s just been a bigger threat to residencies in this area.

Tonight they will be continuing efforts in controlled burning. This time, however, they are evacuating a large neighborhood while they burn. They are doing it as a precautionary action. The smoke will be significant and then there’s of course the potential of losing control of the fire. I shudder to think of how awful that would be. They are leaving it up to the people who live in that area to leave or not. But if they do leave, they probably won’t be permitted to return without good reason. Your guess is as good as mine as to what a “good reason” is.

The smoke on the mountain has settled and the past two days we’ve actually been able to see our fair mountain. There are smoldering hot spots all over the peaks and canyons and it’s still sad to think of what it looks like up close. Experts are saying it will take a minimum of 20 years to regain the level of vegetation the mountain just lost. We as a community are hopeful for a heavy rainy season...despite the cost it will be.

At a press conference this morning our sheriff, Larry Dever (you might have seen him on Fox News a few times) spoke of the devastation being far from over. While the fire is obviously still burning and the potential of it threatening communities again, there’s the added concern of how this new terrain will handle our typically torrid monsoon season. Flash flooding is always an issue during the season and now with the mountain being bare naked, there’s nowhere for that rain to run but towards housing. It was sad to realize how correct he was. I hand’t thought of it. Here we’ve all been praying for rain to open up the torrential downpour. Little do we know how bad that pour could be. It’s a sucky situation at all points.

Predictions being made show the estimated date for containing this fire are somewhere around July 15th. That’s a long ways away. And that’s just containment. Who knows when this thing will be completely snuffed out. I wonder what science is involved in making those kind of guesses.

People are slowly reporting their returns to their homes in the canyons. Police escorts took residents to their properties today to see and assess. Last night folks were permitted to see their homes off of Ramsay Road after the fire jumped the highway and blazed through densely populated Hereford/Southern Sierra Vista. As I previously wrote in another blog, that particular jump on Sunday took 14 homes down. I was heartbroken when I read one of my friends growing up lost her home. My heart sank when I saw the picture posted of what was left of her home. I can’t even imagine the feeling. It begs the question, why her house and not someone else’s?

This fight isn’t yet over. I am a little nervous about the fire’s proximity to the mountain’s base dwellers over the next couple of days. Hearing the high winds on the forecast doesn’t give me a good feeling. It has seemed every day that has been significantly windy, the fire has picked up speed and strength. It only makes sense. But there’s only so much we tiny humans can do against such ferocity. The silver lining: they expect the wind direction to push the fire backwards into the path of destruction its already left. That could be very, very good. There’s nothing left to burn. Here’s to hoping.

People of this community continue to offer their hands wherever they’re called for. Mountains of clothes have been donated to those who have lost their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs. I’m hearing a lot about the bare shelves of the stores around here. People are buying up all the Gatorade, tube socks, chap stick, bottled water, and survival type items in droves. It’s amazing to see this unfold. I don’t think I’ll ever be unaffected by the way my fellow Sierra Vistans have rallied. It’s commendable.

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On an entirely different subject; Alex has finally found his love of the pool! A few rounds of hating it and being just generally afraid, he has grown to LOVE it. It makes me so happy! Today we waded around in a buddy’s pool for a couple hours and he literally kicked his feet up, rested his head on my shoulder, and floated around until I made him get out. It was awesomely cute to see this change in his demeanor. I have a sneaky suspicion we’ll be spending a lot more time in the pool. Plus it’s good for wide ass!

Isabelle has not been playing any softball since the fire became the focus of most of our community’s attention. It’s sort of weird to abruptly stop doing something. Her coach is one of the thousands of people who have been evacuated, so it only makes sense things have stopped. I’m not sure, nor is anyone else, as to when things will resume some level of normalcy around here. But, call me nuts, I think they should get out there and play just for the sake of distraction from all this disruption. But, I also have no idea if anyone on the teams were one of the families who have lost everything. So, maybe it is a good thing to cease and desist until further notice. This thing has phenomenally sucked!

Josh is working the later shift, which sucks too. Perspective. I know, I could be dealing with much larger issues. But it has really put a damper on a routine I’ve been on for over a year. Adjustment...roll with it I guess. Petty in the grand scheme of things. But hey, I can gripe too...even if it’s just on a piddley little blog.

I’m trudging forth on my book. I put a huge dent in the process today and I’m feeling fantastic about it. I plan to finish this book before the end of the year. After that, finding a publisher and an agent. I think this book is going to change lives and I can’t wait to share it. But pulling the reigns back just a little, I’ve got to finish the darn thing first. It’s been hard tackling the subject matter, but the amount of increased mental health is immeasurable. I know what finishing this book is going to do for my heart and that in itself is enough to keep me from shirking. I’m getting to a really good place. It feels good.