The Unique Life of an Average Girl

FIRE!!!

Day 8 - 6/22/15

Today went by fast up until around 3 o'clock.

I woke up around 7:30 and slowly woke up. I was drained from yesterday. Still being sick sucks. After that I just went on my computer and I watched The 100. I actually really like this show. So while I was suffering in my hot room I just passed the time getting lost in that show. We didn't have any water to drink so I opted for cold ice cream. Twice.

Then around 2:20 I smelt smoke. Not BBQ smoke but brush fire smoke. I automatically put on a pair of shorts, run downstairs, grab and sunglasses and hurry outside. The whole town was surrounded by smoke and ash started to fall.

See I live in a small town in the middle of mountains and if the town wasn't there then the land would be a desert. Fires are not uncommon and with this drought anything is possible.  

I didn't know where the fire was. There was smoke everywhere. My dad and I drove around quick to try and find out where the smoke was coming from. At first you couldn't tell, but then we realized where is was coming from. Well, a general direction anyways. The first thought that popped in my head was that I didn't want it near our other house. It borderlines the mountains and in the past many fires have happened.

My dad soon left to run errands and I didn't think twice about the fire. I couldn't find any news on where it was so I figured it wasn't as close as I thought. I then sat down with more ice cream. Then the call came. My mom called and she found out the fire was near our house. My brother and I race over and we didn't even know if we could make it through. The road was blocked on the other side and no one could get through. Thankfully they didn't close our side. The whole 7 miles there I was freaking out. I was texting my friend because she always seems to know things in times like these and the whole time I was fighting to cry because I was expecting the worse. But I toughed if out and pushed back my tears and held it together.

My brother and I were the first to arrive at the house. My brother goes to the water truck to see if he could get it started and I walk up a back road a little ways to see if I can tell where the fire was. I couldn't. So I waited and my mom knew a bit and so did my friend. (The one I was texting).

We were blind without any news so we took some of the necessary precautions. We turned on the sprinklers in the yard, turned of the roof sprinklers, and started to weed-whack the brush.

It was around 6 when I started to notice that the blue sky was coming back. The smoke was clearing. so my brother and I drove up the road to see if the fire was contained. It was. In fact it was almost out.

It was a long 3 hours and there was so much smoke, of course I have been in much worse, but me being sick combined with smoke was awful. Finally we left around 6:30 and since dinner was not planned we went and grabbed chicken club sandwiches from Carl's Jr. They were mighty tasty.

There is still smoke in the air, but it is pretty much clean air.

Today could have been a close call and thankfully it wasn't. Now we prepare for the worst that has yet to come. And until then I am counting my lucky stars that the fire was small and 4 miles away. Yes, that is close but not close enough.

My advice to you is move somewhere where brush fires are not a disaster that you will have to face. Move somewhere cold or near a bunch of water. Don't live in an area of a drought and if you do be prepared for the hell that will come.

I hope all is well and it is time for me to end this page. Write again soon.