After the Rain

 Monday night we went to bed with the windows cracked open, listening to the sound of a soft rain playing across the tin roof. It's one of my favorite sounds.

And if you're lucky enough to be in the high desert mountains when it rains, the smell will intoxicate you. It's one of my favorite smells.

I woke early Tuesday morning...3:00...too early, yet perfect timing. I could hear another favorite sound from the deck.

I had to wait for daylight to see anything

I walked down close to the dirt tank in my jammies and couldn't see even 1 toad, but the sound was almost deafening.They stop singing when you get close even though you think you are being stealthy. 😉 This doesn't happen often in the desert. It's always cause for happy tears and a grateful heart and today that is especially the case as it was absolutely God's hand and your chorus of prayers that rained down on the fire.

I was excited to hear the morning report from the incident command center, and although he acknowledged the moisture as a blessing it did not put the fire out. It moderated fire behavior conditions for a day or two as they continue their work to mop up, continue clearing, and prep to secure the rest of the perimeter.

I was hoping more rain had fallen in other areas, but they said it averaged 1/2" with a little more on our side and a little less on the south end. Still grateful for every drop.

As of Tuesday morning, the road to town is now open and they have downgraded our 'Go' evacuation status to 'Ready'...both good things.

The fire now sits at 28,750 acres. 46% containment. This morning they reported that firemen were walking every step of the contained lines (the black outline on the east and north end), turning over stumps and piles to insure there are no hotspots or smoldering debris. Currently, that's a distance of 48.3 miles.

Prayers are still welcomed as there are more folks living in the area where the fire has moved into and the folks on the ground and in the air are still working to secure the perimeter. As for us, we are safe and the fire is no longer a threat to our property. We greatly appreciate each and every thought and prayer you sent our way. Thank you. 💖

Cookies Delivered

DH and I were outside at 8 on Sunday morning when vehicles began pulling down our road.

It was a small crew of 9 that had come in to chip the trees and brush they had cleared earlier in the week.

We visited with them for a bit and of course thanked them for the work they have been doing. They all said it was a pleasure to work in such beautiful surroundings.

And yes, they all got cookies. 😉

Quick Fire Update: Day 10

 Just wanted to pop in here and share a quick fire update with ya'll.

As of Saturday night, the fire has burned across 24,828 acres. It was 19,088 on Friday evening. The majority of the increased acreage is due to the back-burning that has been concentrated on the south side as the fire moved up and over Capitan peek so it is no longer visible to us. It's just smokey and when it clears, we can see plumes of smoke up high and down in the canyons.

Capitan Mountain sits at 10,079' in elevation. We are at 5,500'. The incredible good news is that the fire sits at 43% containment. That's the black outline on the north-east. And, that's also where we're located, so we can breathe easier though we continue to pray for the 916 people working to secure the remainder of the perimeter as well as other land owners in the fire's path.

The fire's a long way from out, but in this rugged terrain, they simply have to let it burn. A good burn is actually healthy for the forest, but it's also scary when it comes so close and get's out of control.

A reader had commented and asked how many ranches were affected and I don't have any concrete answers, but not a lot. There are 2 ranches on the north side of the fire that run to that road that is blue and they lost some grass, but the 1st responders were able to contain the fire to the lines they had cleared along the 616 base road. The ranch country is north of that and it's not rugged, mountain country. For the most part, the fire has been contained to the National Forest and Capitan Mountain Wilderness- the rough canyons and mountains which is the green on the map. 

Our rain chances increase on Monday and Tuesday so we're praying that comes to fruition and falls on this beautiful, but parched mountain wilderness.

A Quiet Friday

 Thank you for all of your very kind comments lately. I don't know what's going on but I stayed up late Thursday night and replied back to all of them individually and then I had a long influx of emails telling me they were undeliverable. 😩

Technology and I do not compute. I was tired and frustrated. Many of your comments come through as anonymous so even if you sign your name at the bottom, I don't know if my replies get back to you. Anonymous comments are fine; I just feel badly about not being able to reciprocate - especially when questions are asked.

I apologize. I so appreciate that you take the time to pop in for a visit and I like to reply back.

 The shower I posted about yesterday didn't last long. It barely measured 0.10 here but we are grateful for every drop and the evening fire report mentioned that it helped subdue the flames in higher elevations where they received a little more.

Friday morning I was still out of sorts. They have cleared the fire perimeter and have begun to back-burn which means lots and lots of smoke. I feel for the people and critters having to be out in that and I felt guilty that I had the luxury of being indoors after tending to chores. The chickens started out their morning with a little hen session. Probably complaining that it was time for a good coop cleaning.

 My FIL sent this photo from his home. They are 40 miles from us although as the crow flies, they are maybe 30. We live on the other side of that mountain range.

They reported 19,088 acres Friday evening from 17, 116 that morning. There was a lot of air traffic throughout Thursday and into Friday. I took this from the deck. I counted 9 aircraft in 20 minutes. They dumped 150,000 gallons  of water on the fire on Thursday.

DH had left at 5 a.m. on Thursday to pick up cattle guards in east Texas. On the way, he stopped in Portales, NM to pick up 6 gates. We are building a new fence around the property and the gates will allow him easy access when he is horseback or if we need to take equipment or the can-am through. We had put this one in a few weeks ago

He then stopped in Texas and had lunch with his brother and his wife and then drove on to Oklahoma and spent the night with our girl. She was returning from a business trip that evening and DH left out early Friday morning so sadly, they were only able to spend about 45 minutes visiting.

Then DH moved on to pick up cattle guards and after another 3 hour drive, he picked up more bees. He pulled back in at 9:30 p.m. 1250 miles in 40 hours. I know he is tired, but he admits that it is self-inflicted. He has gone hard all his life and the transition after leaving ranch management has not changed that. We were up at 5 this morning to unload the trailer

With all the smoke on Friday, I cleaned my floors and then spent time in my sewing room. It's been a couple of weeks since I sat down to sew. I began to relax as soon as I walked in. I cut out a baby quilt and actually sewed all the blocks in one day. 

That never happens. And this seasoned fabric that has been in my stash for years was perfect for sashing. I had just enough.

Then I trimmed up 4 quilts I picked up from my longarmer. The 'to be bound' pile is getting unruly.

An entire day to sew. That's a rare treat!

A Praise Post

 After I posted on Thursday morning, I made a little circle to fill water troughs, feed the bees, and water the orchard. As I was in the orchard, I heard thunder and watched this dark cloud drift into view. 

Thank you! Because I KNOW it was your prayers that sent it. And then it began to sprinkle

Not a ton, but enough to know...

Praise God from whom all blessings flow.

Fire Watch : Day 5 -7 Update

 Yes, we are all safe. I'm sorry I haven't posted the last few days - we just haven't had much free time. If we weren't working on roads or trimming and hauling grubbed trees

we were both fielding SO many phone calls! Plus, we're still juggling cattle business and needing to brand calves. I needed to get the rest of the garden planted and add mulch.

On the fire front, it moved a lot throughout Monday. Monday morning they reported that 8,971 had burned and Tuesday morning it was sitting at 15,857 acres. 

Not a lot of activity on our property on Monday. The boys worked on clearing more trees 

and the next day DH pushed a road out to give us a second option should our main entrance ever be compromised. The skidsteer track came off, but we just stuck wood pieces in specific spots between the teeth and  we were soon back in business

They brought a water truck out

And set up a portable water storage (they called it a pumpkin). It holds 3,000 gallons.

He only had enough water to fill it half-way so we filled it with water from the spring and let them move on.

It took about 6 hours to fill it

As dusk settled in, we could see that the fire had crawled up Capitan Mountain

In this shot, that's the mountain on the right.

High winds were forecast again on Monday afternoon and through the night, but with the exception of a few gusts, it was mostly calm. Proof of your prayers at work! Thank you! As we closed out the day and crawled into bed, I felt guilty knowing that hundreds of first responders were not going to be sleeping, but working through the night and into the coming days and weeks until the area is blessed with rain. Lord, please place a hedge of protection around each and every one. Presently, there are 834 first responders and support personel crawling through these mountains. Currently, 32 crews, 36 engines, 6 helicopers, 30 water tenders, and 6 dozers are on site.

Tuesday night it looked like this, but that's quite dramatic so I turned off my night mode

This is a more accurate depiction of what we saw. That's about 2 miles from us.

This was our view from the deck the next night

The road to town is still closed, but they will let those of us who live here pass through. I put in a grocery pick-up order and ran in for that as well some horse feed, hay and mulch on Wednesday, but first I needed to unload the things I had loaded in case we needed to evacuate. I hadn't been to town in 12 days so I came back with a load

We are still under a level 3 evacuation order, but we are fine. In fact we had 90% humidity this morning. No rain, but a heavy misty, fog covered the mountain and that's a huge blessing.

I am impressed with the amount of information the incident command center shares 2 or 3 times a day via the inci-web and Watch Duty apps. 

As of this morning, the fire sits at 16,703 acres burned. The majority of the activity has moved west, away from us, so although this is still a long way from being out, we are grateful for a bit of a reprieve, but our prayers continue for those working the fire and for those in it's path.

Fire Watch : Day 4 Update

 Another wild day. At night we can see a few flames

The fire increased from 2645 acres to 6390 overnight according to the Sunday morning report. By Sunday evening it had grown to 8971 acres with 0% containment and 245 crew members on site. 

Multiple aircraft were providing air support, but the increasing winds grounded them.

It's still a few miles from us, but we have to rely on phone alerts and neighboring ranching friends as it's impossible to gage what's taking place from our place. The canyons twist and turn and what the wind's doing here at the house is the complete opposite of how it's behaving in say, Copeland Canyon.

DH has been living on the skidsteer since we moved here. He's been trimming and cutting and grubbing trees and brush since day 1 and we did quite a bit more on Sunday. DH cut

and I hauled and stacked

And DH would scoop and dump

We were clearing a wider perimeter around the house.

I hated to lose so many trees, but it can't be helped when you live in the mountains and fire encroaches, you have to be practical.

Later, I soaked the wood supports and pillars on the deck. The rock is fine and the main part of the deck is composite.

Our son drove out about 9. The road between us and any town is closed so we didn't figure they'd let him through, but they did and we were very grateful for his help.

My knee was grateful too. I still hauled and stacked, but he moved twice as fast as I did. 

The other thing we're very grateful for is everyone's prayers...especially for the first responders on the front line. So thank you. The winds were not as wild as we were expecting, surprisingly we still have electricity, DH was able to get the horses out, and everyone is safe.

Today, higher winds are forecast, and we expect the fire to expand closer, but calmer weather is on the horizon. As tired as we are, I can't imagine how exhausted the folks on the front line are. They are all on the North end of the fire so I'm praying that means we're out of the woods for the moment, but we know it can change quickly.

The folks who have lived in this area all their lives and have experienced multiple fires say that the only thing that can put these fires out is rain and they will often burn for 30 days or more so here it is more about fire management than it is fire fighting. 

We'll continue to monitor the situation and are ready to pull out if conditions warrant we do so.

When I walked out on the deck first thing.in the morning, it certainly didn't look like fire was headed our way.

Fire Watch : Day 3

 We're still here. Not much we can do, but wait...and pray.

The fire was agressive today and expanded from the 577 acres Friday evening to 2,645 acres Saturday evening. 

Evacuation orders have been issued, but we're still here. Now, don't fuss. 😉 We're safe and we'll go when we need to. 

I've got all of our necessary documents in a Pelican box and packed my bible for if or when we need to go.

Packed a go bag, some photos, and 6 quilts. Neighboring ranchers have called and offered to keep our horses and we'll load up Skeet 

I took tubs to the garden last night and filled them with water so we'd hopefully be able to keep it watered if we lose our water (a good idea from DH)

It's just a matter of time before we lose our electricity. We've been planning on installing a generator, but there have been so many other projects to tackle. We had someone come out and assess what it would take, but we want to get a 2nd opinion.

I made 2 batches of granola bars 

And we mostly fielded lots of phone calls and visited with the Hotshot crews on the ground.

They brought in 3 different crews with 2 vehicles per unit and about 6 buggies and hand cleared a path through our property. 

I thought they may stay, but the fire's still west of us a few miles and they moved to moniter it from a closer position. This shot was taken by a reporter named Susan Perney- it showed up as part of an update on our fire app.

It's just a matter of time

They're forecasting high winds Sunday and Monday so we're holding our breath.

One of the Hotshots is from here. They specifically put him in place on this side of the mountain when a fire breaks out because he understands this terrain so well. He told us that this side of the Capitans is "a different animal"

Saturday evening was peaceful...almost eerie as we sat on the deck

Felt like we should be doing something

So I did...I prayed

And I want to thank all of you who have sent prayers - I can't tell you how much it means to us. It brings us peace to know that friends and family are standing in the gap and that this is all in God's hands.