But here's what they know:
The fire is now being referred to as the South County Complex because there was also a fire in the town down the road that burned another 90 acres (although that one threatened more homes). It started just before the Deer Ridge Fire and turned out to be a blessing in disguise because the fact that it was a 4-alarm fire meant all the resources were already in motion when the Deer Ridge Fire started.
Both fires were started by humans (there's rumors of kids goofing off in one situation).
The cost of containing both fires SO FAR is over $850,000. One fire is 85% contained, the other is 45% contained. (I'm not sure how they measure this but it's like wind chill in Canada - you always hear the number.)
My church, which had been evacuated for 3 hours, was safe and in fact became a spot for fire crews to come get a drink or use a restroom or whatever (as it should). Apparently a lot of the various crews came through.
Smoke still lingers (I kept thinking of campfire toast and s'mores yesterday morning) but is clearing.
It sounds like less of a war zone with only occasional spotter planes and helicopters flying overhead.
Roads are open again to our end of town and a lot of us have updated the list of things we'll need to grab if it ever happens again.
A HUGE THANKS to the very dedicated men and women that came from all over the state to help protect our community!
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2 comments:
"like wind chill in Canada - you always hear the numbers"
touche!
Wow, though. I have a weird question. Was there a really overwhelming sound to the fire?
The fire was fairly silent from our side because the wind was blowing away from us, although I hear there is a sound kind of like giant sparklers if you're in the right spot. But the constant traffic of spotter planes, fire bombers and LOW-flying helicopters was very noisy, Especially if you were trying to talk to someone on the phone. I was told it sounded like you were calling from a fox hole.
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