Out of control
Last night, something stupid happened. I'll gladly accept the blame, since nobody was seriously injured or killed. But someone could have been.
We were out burning brush when the wind came from out of nowhere and picked up the fire. Water, shovels, and rakes did nothing to stop the fire. Once it got from the grass to the trees we knew we couldn't handle it. At one point, the left leg of my pants caught on fire as I fought the flames in the bushes. The Alban Fire Department showed up and finished it off, and I am writing this between shifts of watching the trees for any signs of the fire coming back.
The combination of a hot day, no moisture, and heavy overgrowth were the makings of a decent fire. The wind, which was nowhere at the start of the fire, whipped it into a spiral and never relented until it was drowned by the fire department.
I did have the permits, and we were smart enough to know when we couldn't do it ourselves.
But I'm not taking another chance like this one again. I have a great deal of respect for fire, but I'm not taking other people's lives in my hands ever again for something so stupid.
We were out burning brush when the wind came from out of nowhere and picked up the fire. Water, shovels, and rakes did nothing to stop the fire. Once it got from the grass to the trees we knew we couldn't handle it. At one point, the left leg of my pants caught on fire as I fought the flames in the bushes. The Alban Fire Department showed up and finished it off, and I am writing this between shifts of watching the trees for any signs of the fire coming back.
The combination of a hot day, no moisture, and heavy overgrowth were the makings of a decent fire. The wind, which was nowhere at the start of the fire, whipped it into a spiral and never relented until it was drowned by the fire department.
I did have the permits, and we were smart enough to know when we couldn't do it ourselves.
But I'm not taking another chance like this one again. I have a great deal of respect for fire, but I'm not taking other people's lives in my hands ever again for something so stupid.
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