Sky Watch Friday

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This photo is from a fire on Richmond Road in 2007. Thanks to Helen for hosting an awesome fire party that day!

Wildland Fire Series #3

This photo (June 2007) shows inmate fire crews arriving to fight the fire. One of the local prisons is a fire camp training facility. Low level, non-violent inmates are given the opportunity to apply to the fire fighting program. These guys fight fires throughout California. They work alongside CDF crews at fires. Some are hired by the CDF after they parole or finish out their sentences.

Wildland Fire Series #2

The fire burned right up to this home and the home next to it. The CDF planes and helicopters were pretty impressive that day. We were sitting in my friends backyard watching this unfold.

The Diamond Mountians are in the background. I am pretty sure the home in this photo is for sale right now.

The area that burned is now a black hillside. During a recent windstorm, dirt from the burned hillside was blowing across the highway, a mile or so away. Luckily we passed through the dust storm before it was too thick to see.

No homes were burned during this fire. A few outbuildings, vehicles, and fences did burn.

Wildland Fire Series

Living in rural California has its advantages. Crime is low, its clean, people are usually friendly, good schools, great sense of community, and the list goes on. The one thing that scares me is fire season. It can start as early as May and end as late as November. Nothing gets people's hearts pumping more then a summer thunderstorm. Not even football, and believe me, that is saying a lot in a small town.

Last year we were very lucky. We had a few fires near town. There was a large fire about 20 miles away that blanketed our town in smoke for weeks. The Moonlight fire had many residents worried. Luckily the wind kept in an area with just a few homes.

The photos this week are of a fire that happened in June 2007. There was a fire directly behind my friends home. Luckily that was contained without major loss of property and no one was injured. This deer was trying to find a safe place. I saw quite a few deer that day, all looking for an escape.