Fighting Fire

It's still mighty dry in the Sandhills.  And while we haven't had a lot of lightening in recent weeks that hasn't led to a  little moisture, there is still a terrible threat of fires.  The humidity is down to around 20 percent on a lot of days, so even a tiny spark (caused by a piece of haying equipment, a cigarette, a catalytic converter on a pickup, or anything else you can or can't imagine) could lead to a fire right now.  All of us who live and love the Sandhills are walking on eggshells being so careful.  But still, accidents happen.  Just like yesterday.

I don't know for sure what caused the fire.  Word was, a combine or other such equipment caused a spark, but no one seemed to know for sure.  What was certain is there was a big ol' fire.  And it was comin' at a high lope.  The high winds were out of the southwest, then out of the southeast and sometimes straight out of the south.  Some folks don't know that a fire can make it's own wind too.  So not only did this fire have a lot of fuel to burn, it was taking on a life of it's own.  And let me tell ya.....it was angry.

It all works like this......our local volunteer fire department will get a call for either a fire in our county or a mutual aid to another county.  If it's like it was yesterday and the fire is burning pretty much out of control, the fire department will call ranchers on their list who are known to have "grass rigs" (sprayers set up on a smaller scale of the fire department's) to come help.  Most of the time, if we see smoke, we are trying to find out where the fire is already and heading in the direction of it.

We got the call about the end of the first quarter of the Husker game.

Since we have been to quite a few fires already this year and it is never a pleasant thing to know folks are losing property, I can't say Matt or I was looking forward to going.  But we go.  We go because we know how it would be if it was us.  We'd sure want folks to come help us if it was our grass on fire.  My heart breaks every time we go to a fire and I see folks trying to move their cattle out of the way.......I have to fight awful hard to hold back tears.  I am not holding them back now.  When I think of how it would be for me to be afraid for my livelihood, what I work for and love, I can almost not bear it.  I love the hills and the grass and I most certainly hate seeing anyone's property damaged.....but the cattle....they are my passion, I guess.  And I assume they mean as much to others as they do to me.  So it is especially hard to think of something happening to them.

I am guessing this fire was a good 30 miles from us.  Now it might seem silly to drive all that way to a fire and leave your own backyard where something could happen, but especially on a day like yesterday, it was pretty obvious from the smoke billowing up in the air, that we could plainly see from our house, that they were in definite need of help.

Our grass rig is set up on my cake feeding pickup.  The tank holds 200 gallons of water and can either be filled with a hose on the top, or we can suck up water out of a stock tank.  At the bigger fires, there will be several "tankers" from the fire departments who are back a little bit from the fire but still close enough we can get to them, fill up and get back to the fire pretty quickly.  Our fire department has blue lights flashing on the top of theirs, so if it's dark out, you can look for blue flashing lights and know where to go fill up.  If we don't see a tanker close by, we look for a stock tank to fill out of.  Generally if there are cattle in that pasture (or a year like this one) the windmill will be on and pumping and we can get water for our tank there.

Actually fighting the fire is kind of a case by case deal.  But there are a few rules, if you will, that everyone needs to know.  One big rule is to get in the black if you are in trouble.  The black is where the fire has already burned.  If it's already burned, it can't burn again so you can be safe there.  Another rule most of us ranchers go by is to stay at the back of the fire.  The fire departments are way better equipped to put out the big head fires.  Those can get BIG!  And ferocious.  But on occasion, the ranchers are forced to the front if, for instance, the fire department isn't there yet, or there are just too many head fires going at once.

If a little bit of fire gets left going, it can cause a "finger" to come up the back side of the fire.  That happens pretty often, especially if there aren't enough people fighting in the same spot.  Ideally, on a bigger deal like yesterday, several rigs can follow each other, and each one puts out a little more fire, making sure it's completely out.  Right on the edge of the fire there can be bits of grass or a soapweed or a cow chip left smoldering that can spark into the dry grass next to it and start the fire burning again.  So even after the whole thing is out, we need to go around "mopping up" (usually the fire departments do this....thankfully) and just keep dousing the edges with water to make sure nothing gets away.

I will absolutely not drive on the fire line.  For one reason, because I have a tendency to get a little shook at these deals.  I am also short enough that I can barely see over the hood of the pickup and in some of the places we go, it would be pretty easy to drive off into a big hole or blowout.  But the main reason is because I trust Matt to take care of me.  And he is smart in scary situations. So I am on the back of the pickup, spraying water.  I get bumps and bruises and have gotten pretty hot on a few occasions, but have never really been scared to be back there.....mostly because if I holler at Matt to get us out, he gets us out. 

Yesterday was a little different than any fire I have been to before.  The smoke was worse than anything I've ever been in.  There were moments when Matt literally could not see the grill guard on the front of the pickup.....that's bad.  Because you know if YOU can't see, no one else can either.  We would have to pull out of the fire to a place where we could see, leaving the fire to keep burning.  Then go back to the back and start again.  We finally got a little different game plan on this fire, to go against the grain, so to speak and stay out of the majority of the smoke.  It's not how it's usually done, but it worked.

We are most definitely looking forward to some snow cover this winter, although, I have to admit, it doesn't look too promising for that to happen.  We will keep looking to the sky and praying for whatever moisture the Good Lord will send us.....and thanking Him for blessing us with no fires.....