Today was remarkably quieter than yesterday. The fire seems to be losing speed and fuel, which is excellent. Last night, firefighters were able to successfully conduct controlled burns to buffer residential areas should the fire change direction. The weather forecasted throughout the remainder of the week makes things a little sketchy. Thursday and Friday we are expecting more high winds. The past two days have been considerably milder than Sunday’s. Not only is that fantastic for those fighting this fire, it’s kind of nice to be outside and not feel like Dorothy in the Wizard of Oz.
As of tonight the containment has finally gotten higher. We are now 40% contained! I was so excited to read that since we’d been holding onto 27% or less for days. So far, the acreage destroyed is just a couple thousand acres short of 30,000. Comparatively speaking, not too bad when you look at the over half million acres burned in the Wallow fire and over 220,000 in the Horseshoe Fire II. But, unfortunately the Monument Fire has destroyed more homes than both of those fires combined. Not bragging, it’s just been a bigger threat to residencies than the others.
Tonight they will be continuing efforts in controlled burning. This time, however, they are evacuating a large neighborhood while they burn. They are doing it as a precautionary action. The smoke will be significant and then there’s of course the potential of losing control of the fire. I shudder to think of how awful that would be. They are leaving it up to the people who live in that area to leave or not. But if they do leave, they probably won’t be permitted to return without good reason. Your guess is as good as mine as to what a “good reason” is.
The smoke on the mountain has settled and the past two days we’ve actually been able to see our fair mountain. There are smoldering hot spots all over the peaks and canyons and it’s still sad to think of what it looks like up close. Experts are saying it will take a minimum of 20 years to regain the level of vegetation the mountain just lost. We as a community are hopeful for a heavy rainy season...despite the cost.
At a press conference this morning our sheriff, Larry Dever (you might have seen him on Fox News a few times) spoke of the devastation being far from over. While the fire is obviously still burning and the potential of it threatening communities again, there’s the added concern of how this new terrain will handle our typically torrid monsoon season. Flash flooding is always an issue during the season and now with the mountain being bare naked, there’s nowhere for that rain to run but towards housing. It was sad to realize how correct he was. I hand’t thought of it. Here we’ve all been praying for rain to open up the torrential downpour. Little do we know how bad that pour could be. It’s a sucky situation at all points.
The prediction being made show the estimated date for containing this fire is July 15th. That’s a long ways away. And that’s just containment. Who knows when this thing will be completely snuffed out. I wonder what science is involved in making those kind of guesses.
People are slowly reporting their returns to their homes in the canyons. Police escorts took residents to their properties today to see and assess. Last night folks were permitted to see their homes off of Ramsay Road after the fire jumped the highway and blazed through densely populated Hereford/Southern Sierra Vista. As I previously wrote in another blog, that particular jump on Sunday took 14 homes down. I was heartbroken when I read one of my friends growing up lost her home. My heart sank when I saw the pictures posted of what was left of her home. I can’t even imagine the feeling. It begs the question, why her house and not someone else’s?
This fight isn’t yet over. I am a little nervous about the fire’s proximity to the mountain’s base dwellers over the next couple of days. Hearing the high winds on the forecast doesn’t give me a good feeling. It has seemed every day that has been significantly windy, the fire has picked up speed and strength. It only makes sense. But there’s only so much we tiny humans can do against such ferocity. The silver lining: they expect the wind direction to push the fire backwards into the path of destruction its already left. That could be very, very good. There’s nothing left to burn. Here’s to hoping.
People of this community continue to offer their hands wherever they’re called for. Mountains of clothes have been donated to those who have lost their homes with nothing but the clothes on their backs. I’m hearing a lot about the bare shelves of the stores around here. People are buying up all the Gatorade, tube socks, chap stick, bottled water, and survival-type items in truck loads. It’s amazing to see this unfold. I don’t think I’ll ever be unaffected by the way my fellow Sierra Vistans have rallied. It’s commendable.
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