doctoral candidate in rhetoric and scientific and technical communication
fire
fire
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The threat of fire is so pervasive that a siren sounds and we all cringe, wondering if it’s in our part of town.
Today one of my co-workers came into my office and told me she thought there was a fire in my part of town. I was worried. My dog was home alone and I was 40 minutes away. I called the fire department to verify. Luckily, there wasn’t a fire. However, the dispatcher said that we are welcome to call anytime because people are worried and if it helps, call.
There were 4 fires in town today – and the one in Sedona still burns.
This fire, behind my office, was started by a man who wanted to cook some lunch. He started his lunch fire and then threw the match into a trash can – which promptly burst into flames, creating 2 different fires.
Everything is kindling right now. And we have to watch what we’re doing or we could burn down the whole town.
positives
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The positive thing about fires – they give us amazing, beautiful sunsets.
Okay, there are actually many things about fires that are positive but they are also very scary and overwhelming and intense.
I have so much respect for fire – especially now that my brother is a firefighter. I understand it better because he explains it in such great detail.
Did you know that fire grows at a rate of 7:1 per minute? It will reproduce itself seven times over in one minute. The typical Phoenix fire department response is 4 minutes. One small ashtray fire could turn into a very large house fire in 4 minutes.
That is incredible. And scary. And powerful.
The Brins Fire has forced the evacuation of hundreds of people in the Sedona area (a mere 25 miles from Flagstaff). Ash and smoke fills the air of Flagstaff and other surrounding communities.
There are fires on the north rim of the Grand Canyon, in eastern Arizona, and various other places around the state.
Even the smallest of fires are making news tonight (a 2 acre fire was quickly extinguished in an east Flagstaff neighborhood).
What really amazes me, though, is when I see people throw cigarettes out of their cars. Seriously. Okay, could you be MORE stupid? Why not just take a lighter or a match to some dry brush?
Morons. I mean, really. Just plain stupid.
We have professionals fighting our fires. They are good at what they do. Forest fires are hard to contain because it’s difficult to get ahead of them. They can turn in a second and go a direction that wasn’t planned on. But the firefighters that work the fires here in Arizona are awesome.
They really save the day – on more than one day.
thankful
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Sorry I haven’t responded to all of your well-wishes. I’ve been quite under the weather lately. I’ve been in bed for three days (and, frankly, tired of it).
The fire crews on the Woody Fire were amazing. Within 24 hours, the fire was contained. The fire, while within mere feet of homes, did not consume any structures nor take any lives. The crews did an amazing job. This fire could have been catastrophic but they saved the day. Really. I think we owe them so much.
While the fire was across town from me, we have had many fires, already, in my area of town. Some burned for days. Some were left to burn because structures weren’t threatened.
While other parts of the country contend with hurricanes, earthquakes, mudslides, and other natural disasters, for us, we know that it’s a yearly anguish to deal with forest fires, especially with this drought we’re going through.
We’re waiting for monsoon season to slow all of that down but we also know that a fire is always just around the corner.
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I’d like to wish all of the fathers out there a very happy father’s day. Kiss and hug your children. Make sure they know they are loved and that you treasure and cherish them. You wouldn’t be a father without them…it’s a symbiotic relationship.
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And because I’m in the mood…
In speaking with a friend, I realized that I may not be portraying myself in the best light that I could. Perhaps I come across as distant, withdrawn, or guarded.
So periodically I’m going to write on romance and love and anything else along that line.
To get this new path off, I’ve decided to share a W.H. Auden poem that asks questions about love.
O Tell Me the Truth About Love
W.H. AudenSome say love’s a little boy,
And some say it’s a bird,
Some say it makes the world go around,
Some say that’s absurd,
And when I asked the man next-door,
Who looked as if he knew,
His wife got very cross indeed,
And said it wouldn’t do.Does it look like a pair of pyjamas,
Or the ham in a temperance hotel?
Does its odour remind one of llamas,
Or has it a comforting smell?
Is it prickly to touch as a hedge is,
Or soft as eiderdown fluff?
Is it sharp or quite smooth at the edges?
O tell me the truth about love.Our history books refer to it
In cryptic little notes,
It’s quite a common topic on
The Transatlantic boats;
I’ve found the subject mentioned in
Accounts of suicides,
And even seen it scribbled on
The backs of railway guides.Does it howl like a hungry Alsatian,
Or boom like a military band?
Could one give a first-rate imitation
On a saw or a Steinway Grand?
Is its singing at parties a riot?
Does it only like Classical stuff?
Will it stop when one wants to be quiet?
O tell me the truth about love.I looked inside the summer-house;
It wasn’t over there;
I tried the Thames at Maidenhead,
And Brighton’s bracing air.
I don’t know what the blackbird sang,
Or what the tulip said;
But it wasn’t in the chicken-run,
Or underneath the bed.Can it pull extraordinary faces?
Is it usually sick on a swing?
Does it spend all its time at the races,
or fiddling with pieces of string?
Has it views of its own about money?
Does it think Patriotism enough?
Are its stories vulgar but funny?
O tell me the truth about love.When it comes, will it come without warning
Just as I’m picking my nose?
Will it knock on my door in the morning,
Or tread in the bus on my toes?
Will it come like a change in the weather?
Will its greeting be courteous or rough?
Will it alter my life altogether?
O tell me the truth about love.
uh-oh
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It’s that time of the year again.
For those of you who have been reading my blog for a long time, you know that every year, about this time, I write about the fires. I wrote about the Rodeo-Chediski fires in 2002. I’ve written about smaller fires happening around town.
This evening, as I’m getting ready to leave and a few of us are standing around talking electronics (because what else do geeky people talk about for fun???), someone said the smelled smoke.
We all go over to one of the windows. A huge plume of smoke is rising over the city, to the west of the university. One of my co-workers calls his wife to see where the fire is in proximity to their house. It’s further west. Okay, so nothing is probably in danger.
I head out to meet up with my brother and this HUGE plume of smoke is rising over the city. It is blocking out the sun. The city is turning orange from the color of it. Huge.
My brother calls. We’re both in disbelief. It’s like our town is under siege. We’re both trying to listen to the radio but can’t find anything. We hang up (we’ll meet up within a matter of minutes).
My sister calls. She’s at work and she thinks the fire is just over a retaining wall from where she’s at. The electricity is out. Have I heard anything? She can’t get the nearest radio station – their power is out, too. I tell her I’ll try to find out.
I call my brother back to let him know where our sister is and what’s going on. FINALLY, someone says something on the radio. It’s just over the hill from where my sister works. They don’t think homes are in danger. Wait, homes are in danger. Wait…not sure.
My sister calls to say her work has been evacuated. They’ve evacuated a mobile home park and housing development, as well.
Homes are in danger.
Winds are gusting to 45 mph.
The smoke is everywhere. People can’t breath.
And we hope the wind dies down. And we hope the fire is contained.
Soon.