You may be aware that the northwestern United States is burning up, but perhaps not that a lightning strike on August 14th began a fire on the West Fork of Fish Creek. The fire, which started as a small “hot spot”, was purposely ignored by the powers that be (bigger fires around and a paucity of firefighters), which allowed it to grow to 2,600 acres by the evening of August 28th, when Michael was requested to vacate the premises by a Fish & Wildlife warden.
But not before the brave angels from Mast & Co (my builders and now friends) came to our rescue, bringing two other strong men with them to help Michael trim grass and brush from the lodge and two cabins, move all flammables away from structures, and set up a water pump to draw flow from Fish Creek and shoot it through 8 strategically-placed sprinklers toward the lodge. All the while, Michael was working against the clock to get everything of sentimental value out and packed into the Highlander. Mary Anne pulled her weight, and then some, to get the job done.
Michael then stayed in town with Damian and Darcy, while our mountain friend Leo made runs to suwarrow to refill the pump generator with gas to keep the house nice and wet. Overnight winds caused the burn area to triple in size, and as of Saturday afternoon, it covered 11,969 acres. However, a cold front moved in Saturday night, providing much-needed humidity to the air and eliminating the red flag warning (high fire possibility) conditions that allowed this to happen in the first place. Rain is expected Sunday, and here’s hoping that it brings more relief than lightning strikes. My heartfelt thanks goes out to every one who has been a help and comfort through this ordeal….which is definitely not yet over.
The tidal wave? The churning, overwhelming storm of emotion that crashed over and through my body and heart at the thought of suwarrow burning. The warning, for a second time in my life, that anything can and will happen. Gather ye rosebuds while ye may…