Fire Update

We woke up this morning to find ash on our cars, etc., even though the air had cleared as the fire damped down at night. This happens as the weather cools - the fire seems to take a "nap" of sorts - but only a cat nap...

I was up late last night watching the dancing flames from our deck. It was so eerie to see the orange glow where it is usually a dark area in the night landscape. My heart is heavy when I see these fires as I know how vulnerable we are out here. It has happened this way several years in a row where we can view the flames of a wild fire across the valley.

We had three more water spigots added to the area behind our house and shop this spring. That makes six in the back (2 on the house), two in one portion of the front and one in another. It should help make me feel safe - but not today. We have yet another leak in the new irrigation system and the guys came out today and had to shut the entire system off for the next 24 hours to see if the leak dries up. That means I just lost three of the spigots and all the sprinklers until the turn the system back on.

Worst of all, I think that the leak is actually coming from the pond area. They dug a trench and it kept filling with water - water coming in from an area where there is no pipe. That is why the system is off. That includes the auto fill feature on the pond. And when I have been outside to check the trench, it is still full of water - even with the temperature at 90 or so. And the pond level is dropping... I am watching it closely to try and determine how much of the loss of water is evaporation versus leaking. So sad - this pond that had to be rebuilt after the first group of guys did a very poor and illegal job. Now the guy who came in and repaired it and warranted it will be the one to deal with whatever is wrong. I just hope it isn't so!!

The air is all smoke right now, so it is best to stay inside and not be breathing it in. I have a touch of an asthma like issue and don't want to do anything to irritate it. Hopefully the smoke with settle down again as the temperatures drop. We are dropping down into the 40's tonight so that should help not just air quality but also the fire fighting crews.

On a side note, one of the 550+ firefighters working this blaze is the son of some friends of ours. Those of you that have been reading here for awhile might remember when I posted about their other son - he died from a brain injury after an ATV accident one year ago last month. Our prayers are for the safety of their remaining son and all those dealing with this fire event.