June 26, 2012 Lightening Strike!

. . . and when we left.

Lightening strike when we first arrived. . .



We spent three hours Sunday morning helping Larry put out a lightening strike.  The early morning was filled with thunder and lightening, so when I finally got up I remembered that we are supposed to look for strikes.  (It's been a year - what can I say.)  Doesn't matter how much much it has been raining, the incredible heat of the lightening can start a fire anywhere.  And all that fire fodder under the shelter of the tree is usually quite dry.  I saw smoke to the west on the ridge where some 206ers have a small cabin, so I called Larry and Elsie, waking them up.  Didn't see any other signs of fire off our south and north ridges.  JB was in the middle of making breakfast when this all happened.  We just finished eating when I looked at him and said, "What the hell are we doing sitting here while poor Larry is out dealing with that fire?!!"  We called the dogs in, grabbed our backpack, juice, shovels and pick axes, and hopped in his car.  The strike was less than a mile away as the crow flies but about 2-/2 miles by the road.

The first photo above is when we first arrived.  Larry had a two foot ring around it already dug down to the dirt.  The lightening had hit one tree, causing patches of bark to fly off.  The tree next to it was okay, but they were both blackened around the bottom where the grass had burned.  The ground all around here has about 4" to 6" of mulch - good fire fodder.  So we spent the next three hours digging and turning over all that mulch to be sure there were no hot spots left.  We had brought up a couple small containers of water and Larry made two trips on his ATV to the nearest neighbor to fill them up and get three more large containers.  It was a good morning.  My Forest Service Dad would be proud.

It continued raining off and on the whole day as it had on Saturday.  We had cancelled our dinner with RJ because it was so muddy Up Here.  But Monday looked much dryer, so I called them and they came up in the early afternoon for cards and dinner.  Another very good visit.  We plan to go down to their cabin Thursday afternoon for the same.  I have an appointment at the vet to take the dogs in for their annual boosters tomorrow morning.  It's raining again as I write, but is supposed to clear up for the next few days - until July 4, of course.

Saturday morning we managed to put in six more fence poles and Monday morning we put on the rails.  Looking good.

We can hear baby wrens in the bird house.  I think I have given up on ever seeing them learn to fly.  We've missed it every year so far.

Thought for the day:  Some things you learn best in calm and some in storm.  Willa Cather.