If you read my previous post, you saw that we have been dealing with wildfires.

Since July 3 we have had 3 wildfires, in 3 different directions around our small valley.

Not the kind of excitement that we want for the 4th of July!

Fire danger is extremely high this year due to the record amount of rains that we got during the winter. It has been one of those years..

Starting January when 7th, we had so much rain in such a short period of time that several of our dirt roads washed out. That is a lot of water!

The result of all of that rain is high weeds that looked beautifully green during the spring, but now have dried to a crispy brown.

Fire fuel!

It really doesn’t take much to start it. The first 2 fires were both human caused. The official causes haven’t been released, but they were definitely caused by human actions. This could have been riding a motorbike or quad, target practice for firearms, or just carelessness such as a discarded cigarette. Or it could have been arson.

No matter the cause, it has been a very difficult week, and it has caused the loss of at least one home.

What it means to me is that you can take nothing for granted!

We were under evacuation orders for a few days. We chose to stay home. We could see the fire, and watched it constantly.

But we were ready to leave at a moments notice if the wind, or the flames shifted.

We have faced fires close by before, but I think that the latest one has made the most impact on us personally.

So, although every part of the world has it’s own dangers and natural disasters, decide for yourself what is most important. Decide the risks that you are willing to take. And love your family!

And in the meantime, there are the chores, the work, the livestock to take care of – life keeps going.