The Forest Is On Fire
Friday, July 13 was my birthday. To celebrate, my boyfriend, Bob, and I went to the coast. It was great to get out of the Klamath River Valley for a few days. I had a great time, bought a bunch of stuff, won money at a casino that gave me play money for my birthday, and slept overnight in a motel.
When we returned on Saturday night at 11:30pm we were appalled to see a bright red mass of forest fire flames on the hill right next to the forested hill I live on. When we left on Friday, that wasn’t there. The lightning that started all the fires hit the Wednesday before. There are dozens of fires burning all through this forest, but this particular fire ignited two days later and came way too close to our little town of Happy Camp.
So my last few days have been occupied with packing for evacuation, storing valuables elsewhere, attending community fire information meetings, writing articles about the fires for Happy Camp News, being elated when it rained heavily on Tuesday night, and in general, feeling like I was misplaced.
Here’s something you never want to see happening less than a mile from your home. This is what it looked like last Tuesday. We had a lot of people praying for us and God sent rain on Tuesday night. Now there are only a few white wisps of smoke coming up in various places from the forest. I pray it doesn’t get this bad again before they get the entire fire under control. The fire is called the Little Grider Fire after Little Grider Creek, a creek that runs a mile southwest of here. The fire was between our town and the creek.
The map shows how close this fire got to my house.
I’ve been going to work every day. Yesterday at the pizza place where I work we were inundated by hungry fire fighters. I guess they had the day off because of the rain the night before. Guess what. Fire fighters like pizza. They kept us busy from noon to closing time, 9pm. Actually I heard that the night shift stayed open an extra hour to accommodate the famished. Seemed like almost everyone wanted their own personal sized mini pizzas, and we probably sold over a hundred, whereas we usually sell less than five of those in a day.
The good news is that the fire moved away from town and it looks like I won’t have to evacuate after all.
I’ll get back on my schedule again soon - I didn’t even have my computer in my home for a few days so I couldn’t do any blogging at all. For now I’ll file this with my thankfulness articles because I’m so grateful my house didn’t burn down.
Bob and I are heading out for our daily fire watch time. We go across the river every day to get a good look at fire suppression helicopters and to see where the smoke is coming from. See ya later!
[Update: since I wrote this I created a Squidoo lens on evacuation planning: Emergency Survival - Plan and Prepare NOW so if Something Terrible Happens, You'll Be Ready!.]
I hope the fires stay at bay. I like your site….as a veterinarian, I’m quite interested in the therapeutic properties of herbs and botanicals and am always trying to learn more. Do you you grow your own herbs?
Comment by leendaluu — Monday, July 23, 2007 @ 6:49 am
I grow a few herbs, but the soil here in the Klamath River Valley is so bad, I haven’t had the kind of herb garden I really wanted. When I lived in the San Joaquin Valley I could grow anything, just about… I had a beautiful herb garden there.
Comment by lindajm — Monday, July 23, 2007 @ 7:26 am
I am glad that you are all safe and I hope it stays that way. Fire is so final and scary.
I am here via the All for Women Carnival and I just love your blog.
Your front page comment about having once talked on a cell phone tickled my fancy. I hate the things and I flat out refuse to own one.
Stay safe
Megan from Down Under
Comment by Megan Bayliss — Monday, July 23, 2007 @ 9:32 am
Linda, I like your blog. Will come back when I have more time to look.
Comment by Patricia Singleton - Spiritual Journey Of A Lightworker — Monday, July 23, 2007 @ 8:05 pm
I’m so glad you and your property are ok. When I was a kid I saw a fire that was a few miles down the road and I remember being freaked out by it so I can sort of imagine how you felt.
Comment by jen — Tuesday, July 24, 2007 @ 7:59 pm
I will be moving to Oregon soon. Im not sure where exactly you are but I hope the fire doesnt reach you. I popped in to see about your herbal things and then realized your in Oregon. Ive been looking for some blogs from there to learn more about the state and maybe make some new friends.
Ill be back for sure.
Comment by seanymph — Sunday, July 29, 2007 @ 12:35 am
Hi SeaNymph… Oregon is a beautiful state. I was there yesterday - we traveled through Takilma, Cave Junction, Selma, and Grant’s Pass to go shopping.
I actually live just twenty miles south of the Oregon border, in Happy Camp.
The air was clear and pure in southern Oregon, but back here in Happy Camp, which is in the Klamath River Valley, there is a layer of smoke from the fires. It is terrible to have to breathe it in. And if the smoke is too thick, at times we need to turn off air conditioning and swamp coolers - not a great thing on a hot day but that’s self-preservation.
Actually at this point many of us are tired of all the fire fighting. A rain storm just about put out the fire behind our home over a week ago but the forest service is using federal emergency funding to do controlled burnings on the area to eliminate underbrush and help prevent future fire dangers around the west side of the town.
Nice to meet you, SeaNymph.. let me know where in Oregon you decide to settle.
Comment by lindajm — Sunday, July 29, 2007 @ 8:26 am
[...] All for Women2. Avinak3. Country Stitchin’4. The Forest Is On Fire5. Mad goat lady6. Tonic Gifts7. My New Shiny Shoes8. [...]
Pingback by All Women blogging Carnival #7 | All for Women — Sunday, July 29, 2007 @ 4:22 pm
Hi Linda,
I am in the process of getting my house ready for sale. I would love to be up there by late Sept. if I can do it. My bf is from Coos Bay and his folks and brother live in Lincoln City area so we will start the house hunt there and work our way down. Id love to buy a sm. farm because Im hoping to open an herb/antique shop on my property if I can find the right one. I have you tagged in my favorites now so Ill keep in touch.
Comment by seanymph — Sunday, July 29, 2007 @ 4:23 pm
Hi,
Wow, that is really close. Hope all is ok.
Comment by Lehman's Greg — Friday, October 5, 2007 @ 3:29 am