A fairly large wildfire started in Willow, Alaska this past Sunday, June 14. I was working on the farm that day and the farmer and I repeatedly lamented how crummy of a day it was: HOT (nearly 90 degrees), dry, cloudless and windy…Silty dust was flying everywhere and the combination of wind and heat sucked all of the moisture out of the plants and us. Little did we know that around mid-day, a small, nearby community was having a much worse time than us!
Ava doesn’t seem to mind the sweltering heat even in the greenhouse!
My brother lives in Willow. The fire stopped about 100 yards from his place so he only lost some food. There will be lots of cleanup though and some hotspots still smolder.
Sometimes it is difficult to remember that my state (Oregon) isn’t the only one walking on pins and needles because of the forest fire danger this year. Prayers and positive thoughts being sent your way! And, speaking of positive thoughts, your comments about Facebook are so true, and reinforce my current attempts to focus more on educational and positive posts while still maintaining my quirky sense of humor. Thanks, and prayers for your safety!
I live in Colorado, where fires are a way of life. That doesn’t make them any less scary or any less devastating. So sad that you all are going through this. So scary!
Labor Day 2011 I lost my house in the wildfire of Bastrop TX (near Austin) along with over 1600 other homes. (Worst wildfire in Texas history – 3rd worst nationally.) We were lucky and got a phone call from a friend telling us of the fire as soon as it started, a mere 1/2 mile from our home. We were able to grab a few things and while we lost some treasures, pictures, 400 year old family bed… we at least got some stuff out. We were fortunate.
Through social media, I was able to keep up on where the fire was, inform friends and family who were seeing our fire on the news that we were OK, tell people what we needed, what we didn’t need… It really was an immense help.
Other ladies had husbands on volunteer fire fighting crews and as their men would call home they would relay the status reports to their FB feeds. Media in Austin wasn’t covering our disaster very well and FB was often the only and by far the most reliable source of information during the chaos of that month.
Sadly, FB has changed its metrics and now not all posts that you or emergency offices post is seen by everyone who follows them. There has been a vast shift to Twitter for this reason as they DO show all of the posts. During a crisis it is unconscionable for news that is desperately needed not to be relayed due to silly metrics for advertising.
Nearly 4 years out, and we are still recovering. Still using social media to gain information and alert us to new threats – floods, new fires… We know all to well that it can happen to us.
Stay safe, have pictures of everything in your house taken and kept in your purse, and good luck. And know that if the sky does happen to fall you will eventually recover… and you can always contact others in the forest fire club for support.
Here’s to hoping that you don’t join the sisterhood of the burning house.
I live in Colorado, actually the Black Forest fire got within 1/2 mile of my home, my sons home is just a street width from the fire – he found temp homes for his horses, unfortunately the chickens had to be turned loose (they all made it just fine) the dogs n cats went with them into friends in Colorado Springs – they couldn’t stay with us because we were under ‘evac warning’. All said my family did fine but a few friends lost everything – one of their neighbors (husband and wife) lost their lives. This fire was man made and still no one held responsible BUT all that said – each and every fire is devastating whether one is personally effected or if it is the community – we can’t thank the fire fighters and other first responders enough for all they do everyday. So glad you are not personally in harms way but thank you for your kindness toward all that are. Just a quick word about Ava – just seeing her makes my heart skip a beat – precious!!!
God bless.
Fantastic post Alex. I do love how people really pull together when terrible things happen. It shows us that community is still alive and well. I’m glad that you’ve shown the beautiful side of life in social media. I agree with you wholeheartedly, when used for good things, social media is absolutely fantastic. Take care.
I know all about how damaging fires can be living here in Australia. We go through the exact same thing every summer season.