All is Calm, All is...oh! That's Fire!

The morning was good, selling bread and getting to catch up with friends. The biggest speculation was about the Coast Guard cutter sitting in the bay. Jeff, whom I will refer to as Jeff, and I watched it come in fairly early in the morning (he gets an Early Morning Reliable Bread Buyer award), and others noticed it as well.

Personally, I'm all for the Coast Guard hanging around here on busy weekends. Especially if they slow down those irritating jet skiers who drive through the waters like it is the Daytona racetrack, regardless of what their wakes do to boats at anchor. Oops, back to the tranquillo part!

Lola and Lucy are back! So good to see them, as always.

Almost all of the bread was gone when Mary came speeding by (relative term here) calling out, "There's a fire! We need people to help!" I'd seen the fire truck go by earlier and went to see where the fire might be. It looked like a bit of smoke, maybe, in the bay by Costa Bonita. I closed down the bread table and made a couple of calls of people who might be able to help. Which was a mistake, because I thought it would be a fairly easy thing to find. But unless you know how to get beyond the road to Brava and that it was okay to go down that private driveway, you weren't going to go there. Pan, Timmy and I did know and did go, as did quite a few others. Yes, I forgot my camera.

These photos were taken from Matt Mulvey's plane and sent out to share (thank you!)

It was a big burn, and had a couple of intense moments but we'd missed the worst of it. Pan went off to do more rugged helping, and Timmy and I decided to head out with George.

Timmy and me - Culebra Gothic (photo credit and thanks - Mary Ann)
Yes, I always dress this way to fight fires.

We figured smoke inhalation, potentially slipping and breaking bones and maybe a heart attack would not be exactly the help looked for, plus, our awesome as ever bomberos and the police seemed to have things well under control.

The photos show the scope but not the intensity of how deep the burning was. Everyone was struck by the brilliant colors of the day, strikingly blue waters and sky and then you'd turn around and smoking black ground, with dots of small fires all around was a huge, depressing and not without its fearful moments contrast.

It was definitely time for an adult beverage...

Do you agree that all three of these women are of a type? Healthy, gorgeous; that type.
If I could have gotten Karen and Lynn in this photo, it would have been perfect; they all could be sisters.
 I'm blessed to know some amazing women around here, and glad I've found them in my life.

George and Jane and I drove back up to the fire site to show Jane the damage and why we smelled like we'd just come from a camping trip of too long a duration (another reason I love Dinghy Dock, where friends will tell you things like that). We chatted with some home owners there; it seemed things were okay, a few smoldering spots would need to be watched but no homes were damaged and no people hurt, so all in all, whatever idiot dropped a cigarette or threw a match mainly managed to clear off a lot of vegetation that should have been cut back anyway. It's fire season around here; be careful with any potential fire starting activity and keep your eyes and noses open for smoke. 

Abbie emailed this out on Pam's list a little after 5 p.m. and pretty well sums it up:

The fire is now headed down the hill in the direction of Zoni. There is nothing anyone can really do, due to the terrain. Many people have gone to help out, but the firemen feel it is too dangerous and unaccessible. This is a huge fire. Keep your eyes and ears open and your grass cut!  :( Abbie

Homeowners, clear off your guinea grass, if you can't do it, there are people around here who do that for a living and they will help you out.

Finally it was time for home and bed and the good sleep. Now, where did I put Nadeen's bread? 

Have a safeguarded Saturday. Do something non-scorching.

p.s. Just read the fire apparently flared up off and on all night, with the police and fire department there. The wind is calm right now (usually picks up as the day goes on this time of year) and no rain apparent, so it might be a few days before the danger is truly gone.