The Weekend Filled With Thoughts Of Fire

It feels like it is everywhere.  Within the past week there have been FIVE FIRES close enough to me to cause my brain to have difficulty focusing on anything else.  The air is filled with varied levels of smoke influenced by the direction of the wind, even the slightest wind.  And, yesterday there were embers in some parts of my little town !

These photos from the newspaper are of the fire closest to my home yesterday starting around 5 AM.  In fact it is off of the road that I take when I go shopping to larger stores than in my little town.

What a stunning photo of the helicopter !  Can you see it ?   But, TRAGIC nonetheless.  The fire is contained at 136 acres burned. But, still burning.  There were evacuation orders.  

During the later part of the week there were two fires on the road that I take to the Refuse Disposal Station (garbage dump) every week.  Less than 10 minute drive from my home !  No longer burning.  But, frightening .

In addition, there were two other fires relatively close by that were contained within a day.  Thankfully !

Further east from here is the Donnell Fire in the Stanislaus National Forest that has been burning since August 1.  Sunday evening the fire was reported at 6,000 acres with 2-percent  containment.  An update this morning at 8 AM put its size at 12,000 acres and containment at just 1 percent.  

And, now the fire has crossed a main throughway/highway. 

I am very familiar with this area and have spent quite a bit of time there in years past.

It is real wilderness in this area and this is the little Resort comprised of a store, restaurant, bar, seven cabins, four motel rooms and 35 RV spaces that suffered massive structural fire damage.  It is the only place for purchase of supplies for miles.  I have been in there many times years ago when it wasn't quite as expansive in amenities.

And, I have also stayed in a cabin that was built 95+ years ago by the parents of a friend of mine.  No electricity or plumbing. However, water was piped in nearby from a little waterfall by the owner.  During the visits with my friends we would sit around the outdoor fire made from wood we gathered at evening time playing Scrabble by the light of the fire. Cute trivia - baby footprints of my friend are in the cement entrance to the cabin.  I do not know if the fire has impacted the integrity of the cabin.  There was so much camaraderie and fun time spent there.  Fabulous memories.

And, very sadly the fire near Yosemite that started mid July continues to burn and the fire is around 91,500 acres and there is 38-percent containment this morning.

The whole area is closed down to tourists.

I can't go on.  This is more than enough.  My heart aches for ALL THE MANY people and ANIMALS and WILDLIFE that are affected by fires and disasters throughout the world.  There are so many  ! ! !

God Bless All Of  You.

Mary