April 19, 1976, 1:10pm, temperature 93ºF,
wind out of the west, an old powerline snaps, the broken end sparks as it nears
the ground, the spark ignites the grass and leaves. From there the fire is off and running, rapidly burning eastward, pushed across the Allegheny Plateau by
the wind. On the second day I was leading a crew that was backfiring in an
attempt to control the fire which grew to over 3,300 acres before it was
extinguished by rain early on the fourth day.
Fast forward to April 16, 2020, temperature
34º, gusty wind swirling beneath sleet squalls, some squalls with sleet falling
so heavily it wasn’t possible to see across the valley, some sleet the size of BBs, the
wind propelled the sleet to sting the face, sleet falling heavily enough that
the ground in the Big Woods was covered with white in ten minutes.
Snow fell the next day, putting two inches
of the white stuff on the ground – it melted later the same day as the temperature rose.
April is the fickle month as flowers bloom, leaves emerge – and snow falls.
Wild fires are scary...and I have a son who fought them for years. He has a heart of gold, and I had to face my anxieties with trust that his training as a crew member, his equipment, and the weather would help him persevere. Yes, sleet and snow are just as much without control by us humans. It was brave of you to go out and take all those pictures. Brrrr.
ReplyDeleteWeather is fickle here in the Pacific Northwest giving us mostly no rain in the lowlands or snow in the mountains. I am afraid the summer will continue to be dry with lots of fire danger. - Margy
ReplyDeleteYes, April is a fickle month!
ReplyDelete