Started out normal enough yesterday.....

I went & surveyed a 38 acre homestead from the 1800's using my GPS & 4 wheeler. I noticed the clouds building about noon, so I made haste to finish asap, as I could see the storm getting closer & lightning in it.....(Riding around on an ATV with an aluminum rod attached & sticking straight up from the front bumper is NOT what you want to do in a thunderstorm, believe me...)

I got out in time & came back to the ranch, where I saw that it had rained over 1/4 inch....COOL! I'll take the rain....:D
Then about 3 PM a Sheriff's pick-up drove up to the ranch & tpld me there was a forest fire just over the ridge to the West....sure enough as we watched, you could see the smoke start to billow up, about a mile from the ranch house over the ridge.

There is no way up to the ridge by vehicle unless you know about the old logging road on the back of my property, & I told them I would flag the way up there on my ATV so the hotshots could follow.

By then, there was a spotter plane over the fire...soon enough, we had Fire Dept, Sheriff's Dept, Forest Rangers, & volunteers based at the ranch.

I moved my horses out the 40 acres to the North so they could get to the fire through that way, into the forest.

Excitement over? NO WAY!
They brought in the big freighter plane & it started making low circles over the ranch to try & find a good spot to dump water on the fire.....
While the plane was circling, the fire fighters were arriving & leaving to the fire, our 3 year old plaomino decided h'd had enough, & pushed through a panel, & got out. While he was running loose he decided to take out 50 feet of the board fence I have around the house....he hit & destroyed 5 4x4 posts & all the boards that connect them them, cutting a 4 inch gash in his chest as he did so...GREAT!, Now I have to play veterinarian too...

I called my dad iver after I found the suture package....by the time I sewed him up, he was calm & just stood there & let me doctor him. Good boy! ( I was a little tired at that point)
I got him sutured up well.. Well, good enough for me not being a vet...

Finally got to sit down & eat some cold pizza at about 10:30 last night.....Smoke was thick in the air as I got to bed.

Wind this morning smells nothing of smoke, so I assume the hotshot crews spent the night putting out the fire, for which I'm grateful.....It never came over the ridge...

Perhaps today the excitement will abate somewhat around here.

Unless T-storms cause anouther lightning fire....:D

Barry

Barry,
Sounds to me you got off pretty lucky.  That ridge is pretty darn close if my memory serves me right.  I hope the palomino heals up fine..now there's just the problem of doctoring that fence.

I'd say ya had some excitment, good that the plaomino is going to be ok,  we had are a lot of forest fires here this past spring, people set those, saw some bad fires on my way down to carlsbad onetime, Yep nothing like cold pizza HUH,;) Ron

rockin',
 
Don't count on the fire being out just yet.  I've found from personal experience that they'll "lay down" over night, and about 10:00 this morning you're liable to be seeing smoke again.
 
That Rodeo Fire that I went through a few years back was HUGE, and early in the morning there was no trace of it from a couple miles away.  That all changed when it got about mid-morning, and those great billowing columns of smoke would start rising again.
 
Don't get me wrong; I hope that it's out.  Just don't relax too much just yet, mi amigo.
 
Keep an eye out and stay safe!
 
Daryl

I'm on the lookout for more smoke as we speak.....They tend to lay down at night & fire back up as the humidity drops during the day.....The plane got a really good dump on it last evening, which is the only reason it didn't come over the ridge yesterday.

I'll keep a sharp eye out....

Wow Barry!  Glad everyone is okay.....

Barry,

OoooWheeee!  Don't like fires like that one........we were watching for about 6 months here just for what you had.  Thank goodness it didn't happen.  Hope you used a sharp needle on that palomino hoss!  Sure like it when they are gentle.  Take care amigo.  Keep a sharp eye out tomorrow.

Ol' John

Glad evrything is okay Rockin' Good on you for being able to stich the palomino. Sounds like he did a number on the fence. Hope the fire is out, keep your eyes open.

Makes my day seem kind of boring. I guess I'll go to bed. I hope that everything turns out ok.

I guess they got it out.
Yesterday the winds locked up, & no sign of smoke on the ridge! :D

All we need now is some rain, & lots of it!....

Thanks for the well wishes, I appreciate them very much.

Barry

Whew!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!