*Well here we are. Part Two of the craziness. The first part
might not have been that exciting, but for me and my fellow rescuers, we were
on edge for about a half hour. And Monday was just as exciting. And terrifying.
So wild the day gets its own post! So here we go!
Monday June 29, 2015
BOOM!
It's 5:15AM when my eyes shoot open. My house is shaking.
Trembling. My breath catches in my throat as I sit up. Diane rushes into my
room, talking about a rock slide. Rock slide? Did I just hear her correctly?
"What are you talking about?" I ask, scared to
know the answer.
"Our house sits on an old rock slide. I thought the
rumble was a rock slide." Well that would explain the brand new houses
next door…
Again, my breath escapes me. We creep to the small second
story window and gaze out on the lake. There's no rain. There's no more
thunder. All is quiet.
CRACK!
My eyes grow as wide as saucers as I watch a bolt of lightning
slam into the side of the mountain. Across the lake. One mile from my current
location.
Think about the last time you've seen lightning. The spindly
crackles of white light that crisscross
up from the ground like think fibers of silk. That's what most of us
think of when we think about lightning.
Well, let me tell you something. When it's within a mile
from your position and you see it slam into the ground, it's not delicate. Not
whatsoever. This bolt of lightning was sent by Thor himself, as if he was
hammering a nail into a board. Did I mention the bolt was thicker than the
surrounding trees. Yeah.
I'm dressed and downstairs sitting on the porch faster than
any human in history. Diane trotted out after, much more immune to the perils
of living with fires. We start a casual conversation, but I'm hardly listening.
My eyes are fixated on the trees on the other side of the lake.
How long does it take for lightning to start a fire? One
minute? One hour? Depends on the level of dryness, the type of trees, the
contents of the underbrush. But it comes of no surprise to me that ten minutes
later, I see a small wisp of smoke begin to spiral its way out of the canopy.
"Diane," I tug at her shirt sleeve and point
across the lake. "What do we do? Who do we tell?"
"Oh, the guys probably saw it."
"Are you sure?" My worry is growing with the
amount of smoke. "Should we go tell them?"
"If you want to. I could use the bike ride."
I'm hauling ass up to fire cache, while Diane trails behind
at a leisurely pace. Damn that hill though… Burning legs aside, I'm relieved to
see one of the fire fighters walking around outside. We tell him about the
fire. And he doesn't know. Thank the gods I decided to bike up there.
"Breakfast?" I'm still reeling from the excitement
of the last half hour and Diane's thinking about food. Although truth be told,
I am hungry…
We quickly the two miles to the bakery. They don't open
until 7am. But not for locals. There's always pastries and coffee for the
locals. And seasonal workers pretty much are locals. At least I'm starting to
feel like it. Two cups of coffee and a vegan muffin and I'm starting to feel
more relaxed. Mostly because it's raining. Pretty hard too. Maybe it'll keep the fire at
bay longer enough for the crew to respond.
Rain pretty much means I get a day off, but I end up handing
out at the kiosk anyway, before I have to wander up to the store at 4pm. What
did I do for lunch? The Bakery again. But only because the soup of the day was
gazpacho. The best. Did I mention that I got a free vegan muffin? Yesterday,
Robbie (the bakery owner) came in and only had enough money for one bag of ice
so I bought her the other on. She gave me a free vegan muffin next time I was
up at the bakery. Which just happened to be today. It will make an amazing
breakfast tomorrow, for sure.
So I guess you're wondering what became of the fire. Well,
that evening, the fire crew (all three of them) wander in, filthy and
exhausted, and thanked me for telling them about the fire. It probably would've
burned for a few hours before anyone notified them, being that it started so
early in the morning. I gave them an employee discount on their purchase and
thanked them for stopping the fire. Such great guys. Any because of them (and I
guess my persistence) I slept soundly that night.
Lesson Learned: Fire is scary. Obey fire bans and all rules
about open flames. Now who to notify if you see a fire start in your area.
Don't mess with the flame. It will burn you and most of the forest around you.
No joke.
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