We had live rattle snake excitement last week, we had a guy who parked on top of a rock, and Sunday we evacuated because of a fire. To be accurate, the boys evacuated and I stayed to take pictures. By the time we had the car packed with children and computers, and I managed one little tweet as I was shutting down my computer ("Packing. Forest fire one mile."), I could tell that the fire would not be big. I sent Sander and his asthmatic lungs with the children, put the keys on the front seat of the other car, and ran around taking pictures. You will find a picture diary below the jump.
The fire never did turn into a "forest fire," but forest fires are at the top of our minds this time of year. Smoke means "forest fire" until you prove otherwise. As it turns out, some gray matter-challenged driver was pulling a van with his own van. The disabled van was riding on its rims and making sparks. I expect he was dealt with rather severely.
Firefighters responded quickly with water, shovels, and chain saws. It was a windy day but the wind carried the fire toward a fire break. Had it been a typical still summer day, we would have had a forest fire.
The downside of those new-fangled plastic fences is that they melt when they are burned. The melted fence is the most fascinating part of the fire to my seven-year-old son Frederick.
These two young men from Richgrove saved the day. They happened upon the scene as the fire began and fought it with hoses and buckets. Having saved the house owned by the Hot Springs Resort, I found them enjoying a complimentary dip in the pool.
"Gosh, Dad, I can't believe all the ash on your car from the fire. You should have stayed out of the smoke."
"That's dirt from off-road driving with a little ash on top, but there's no reason to let the truth ruin a good story."
