Not What You Want to See!

On Thursday night I was all settled in when the notifications from Pulse Point and Watch Duty came in. As usual, I checked to see where the fire was. This is such a part of my nightly routine that I never really expected it to be a direct threat to the rescue but tonight was different - it was on the hill directly across the street from us. No more settling for the night!

I arrived at BHR about five minutes later and the pics below show how it unfolded - a 2 alarm wind driven grass fire! We were very lucky that the wind was in our favor and blowing away from us, but we were ready to pack up and leave with any changes. There is also an oil refinery near by, the lights you see in the distance, so our local fire department and nearby communities do not mess around! They were able to quickly stop the forward spread and get it under control. They are amazing and we couldn’t be more grateful!

Clean up begins

The next morning clearly showed how much had burned. On going checks were made through out the day with a few trees continuing to smolder. Luckily it was a happy ending to a potentially bad situation. A reminder of how quickly fire can pop up and spread.

We started putting in fire breaks mid-April and have been working on them ever since. The following day was no different. We just kept going and did the best we could to cut back even more dry grass for the safety of the horses, people and the neighborhood behind us. Hoping for a safe and fire free July 4th. Be safe everyone, and make sure you have a plan!