oosik
Epic Contributor
We are in the final mop-up stages of a 15K acre wildfire here in Eastern Washington. My property turned out to be right in the middle of the level 3 evacuation.
It was a truly frightening situation. You are waken up in the middle of the night by a heavy knocking at the door and a man yelling - "State Police - get up". He told me we were in a level 3 mandatory evacuation situation and I had five minuets to gather what I needed and leave.
I got my pant, billfold, Jeep keys and dog and walked out to a smoky situation so dense I could not see the Jeep or tractor parked only 50 feet away in the carport. He waited and followed me out my driveway to ensure there was no hesitation. Its VERY hard to walk away from what you have spent over 30 years building.
This wildfire was called the Watermelon Hill Wildfire. The firefighters could do nothing - the fire was moving at 20-30 mph and they had absolutely no off road equipment. All the equipment had been previously committed to other fires in Ea WA. All the big wheat and cattle farmers got their tractors geared up and did a FANTASTIC job disking fire breaks on ridges, across fields and around homes. Due to their tireless efforts not a single home nor any outbuilding were lost in my area. The fire came within a half mile of the south side of my property.
I'm not a person often taken to random outburst of emotion but without the assist from all these farmers a lot of us today would be looking at a pile of ash and cinders and wondering how really good our homeowners insurance would be.
I thought of helping with my tractor but I was told I would just be in the way. The big boys were cutting fire breaks 40-50 feet wide with each pass.
It was a situation that I will never forget, hopefully will never have to experience again and would hope nobody else ever has to experience.
AGAIN, I WANT TO THANK ALL THE FARMERS WHO RISKED LIFE, LIMB AND EQUIPMENT TO STOP THIS WILDFIRE.
It was a truly frightening situation. You are waken up in the middle of the night by a heavy knocking at the door and a man yelling - "State Police - get up". He told me we were in a level 3 mandatory evacuation situation and I had five minuets to gather what I needed and leave.
I got my pant, billfold, Jeep keys and dog and walked out to a smoky situation so dense I could not see the Jeep or tractor parked only 50 feet away in the carport. He waited and followed me out my driveway to ensure there was no hesitation. Its VERY hard to walk away from what you have spent over 30 years building.
This wildfire was called the Watermelon Hill Wildfire. The firefighters could do nothing - the fire was moving at 20-30 mph and they had absolutely no off road equipment. All the equipment had been previously committed to other fires in Ea WA. All the big wheat and cattle farmers got their tractors geared up and did a FANTASTIC job disking fire breaks on ridges, across fields and around homes. Due to their tireless efforts not a single home nor any outbuilding were lost in my area. The fire came within a half mile of the south side of my property.
I'm not a person often taken to random outburst of emotion but without the assist from all these farmers a lot of us today would be looking at a pile of ash and cinders and wondering how really good our homeowners insurance would be.
I thought of helping with my tractor but I was told I would just be in the way. The big boys were cutting fire breaks 40-50 feet wide with each pass.
It was a situation that I will never forget, hopefully will never have to experience again and would hope nobody else ever has to experience.
AGAIN, I WANT TO THANK ALL THE FARMERS WHO RISKED LIFE, LIMB AND EQUIPMENT TO STOP THIS WILDFIRE.
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