Wildfire

Fire, lots of fire! There has been a wildfire burning since yesterday, only a few miles from our house. The Steward helped fight the fire until 5pm, then changed and went right back out as a sheriff's deputy and helped at a road block and then the shelter up in town. Ferret has been out with the fire dept. since yesterday afternoon.

They say they're just going to let it burn at this point, since it's not a sweeping, raging thing - only keep it off any houses and put it out when it comes to the road. So far over 1000 acres have been scorched or burned.

I personally saw it on both sides, the charred, blackened landscape with eerie little fires still burning and smoldering back in the woods, and I saw it sweeping close to the road, embers and sparks skittering across to the other side. For that was another thing, there was such wind! Gusty and too strong, just the kind to push a fire across a road, or fan a smoldering pile of embers into a new flame.

I wished I could have helped more. Next time, I'll know to volunteer to help the Red Cross, as they were giving out water and drink to the emergency personnel - even cooking breakfast for them this morning at a local fire house. But then, I was home for the brief times the Steward came home for something or other, and I think that was very helpful to him - knowing that I am safe, that I'm "holding down the fort" as he likes to say, and being a general encouragement to him. I am wife before public volunteer. :)

I did, however, have quite an adventure yesterday.

It began normally enough - except not normal in that Momma was taking me to a consignment sale near her house. I mistook the time I was supposed to be there for the sale, so we spent an hour before hand at Cracker Barrel, eating good food and planning our attack. There was so much stuff! You try being a new mother, confronted with some 50 strollers, and having to choose for your family what will serve. Oh, and Eddie Bauer strollers are still expensive, even at a consignment sale. I got a sturdy blue-and-lime-green Graco one that comes with an infant car seat. But I will admit that it was overwhelming to choose amongst so many. Momma and I came away with enough equipment to last until the next sale (when baby is bigger.)

After stuffing my little car full, I headed to a diaper shower for two women in my homegroup, stopping to grab some lunch at Chick-fil-A. Ferret called me there, looking for his fire gear, thinking I possibly had it down at my house with the Steward's gear. I told him where I thought it was, and he went to check. He said that the Steward had already gone to it, but I forgot to ask about the fire.

I was late to the shower, but still was able to spend some time with those dear women. Ferret called again, still trying to find his gear. The he told me it was a wildfire on a road a few miles from our house. (Whoa - maybe I'd better get back! I'm thinking.) I told him to look for his things at the fire house (and he did find them there) and I headed home.

I saw the smoke from 30 miles away. And even passed a small brushfire (being handled by the local fire departments) halfway there! It was a day for fires in North Carolina, as WRAL can attest.

Husband parked his car further up on the road that was burning (he actually drove through the fire to get to the part already burned) so when he came home to change for work, he brought another firefighter's truck. Thus began my adventure for the evening: retrieving the Steward's truck and returning Shane's to the fire dept.

I enlisted the help of a driver from the Big House, one of Mary's weekend guests. We took the borrowed truck to the fire station, then rode together to find the Steward's truck. Of course they let me through the roadblock, 'cause I'm with the fire department, but they didn't let us pass where the fire was raging next to the road with hot embers sliding across. Little wonder. But it turns out that I had driven right past Ferret and Shane, so on the way back I gave him his key and heard the updates, then drove off to circle around and get to the truck from the other end of the road - which involved driving all the way up to town and back down a different route.

Again, they let me pass the first roadblock, but couldn't go any further than the church where they'd set up base. No private vehicles were allowed past - and Husband's truck was still further down. So - I went up to a group of men from the sheriff's office and ran into both the sheriff and the captain. They both recognized me, and the sheriff gave me a hug (He is incredibly social and hugs pretty much all the ladies.) The Steward got a ribbing for that at a meeting later - something about how the fire department has some awfully pretty women on the roster. Anyways! Captain took me himself past the block, and that's when I saw the blackened roadsides and small fires gleaming in the woods. It was eerie, and made one such as me feel quite useless - I wanted to hop out and stomp on those tiny little fires, so small and terribly threatening they seemed to me.

We finally got to the truck, parked on the one patch of gravel I had seen for a mile, surrounded but charred grass and trees. Captain helped me check the truck and I thanked him and drove it out. Abigail's friend drove my car and after we dropped the truck off at the station for Ferret to drive home, we went back to the Big house, nearly two hours after we set out.

It was a crazy day/night, and there are still men out there watching the fire. Here's a picture of the Steward at 3:00 yesterday, as he was texting me and waiting for the fire - he's the one on the right: