Our past few days have been consumed with wildfire preparations.   Dry windy conditions led to multiple fires in the area.  The Serenity Ridge Fire pictured in the foreground above is currently about a mile from our house.  There is no infrastructure between it and our development – just flammable forest.  Fire crews have been overwhelmed with structure protection and haven’t been able to build a line.  We feel for those who have lost their homes.

We’ve been wearing ourselves out clearing leaves, cutting trees and brush, and soaking our contingency line and house perimeter with sprinklers.  My eyes and nasal passages are irritated from the smoke.  At the moment, we are forcing ourselves to take it easy so that we have energy to deal with the situation this afternoon if the fire gets closer.

We think we’re prepared. We have lines around our property which are also protecting our neighbors on either side.  If the fire would establish inside those lines, we have significant defensible space around our house and created better space around our outbuildings.  

We bought plenty of gas for our generator to run water if the power goes out. The ATV and truck are fueled up.  C has 30 years of wildland fire experience and I had 7 years.  We have both protected other people’s house from wildfire in the past and while we don’t have all the gear and toys, we have enough. So if we do get an evacuation request, we are planning to stay, though I don’t recommend the same to most.

Local news info:  https://pagevalleynews.com/firefighters-still-attempting-to-contain-several-fires-homes-lost-residents-displaced/