July 31st 2012 5:18 pm
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Mama is real sad tonight. All day long there has beened a huge plume of smoke hangin to the north of our town. It kinda looks like Peekie's tail onliest when she is layin down. It sorta looks like clouds, but it is not white, more like whitish-yellow, and it is spreadin toward the east. For the first time ever mama sawed a fire fightin helicaflopter flyin right past our house. It had thingies mama called twin rotors and a funny little oranj bucket thingie hangin down. Mama is not sure why it kept comin back and forth cuz the fires are further away from us, and there is water lots closer than the river here.
Lightening caused three fires in the Bob Marshall Wilderness. They were reported by the fire spotter lady at the lookout on Patrol Mountin. Mama and grampster hiked to the lookout once. It tooked em bout four hours to go up and bout that long to get back down. The lookout is WAY high on the top of the mountin on a little flat piece of solid rock. Two of the fires have burned right into each nuther, and the third one is so close they are startin to call it a "complex." It is called the Rapid Creek Fire Complex.
Anyway, the sad part is it is burnin straight toward mama's beloved Benchmark. Grampster's childhood friend has a cabin there, and mama and grammie and grampster used to go there all the time. Sumtimes they would stay at the cabin, and sumtimes they would stay in a big campsterground nearby. There is an air strip there where all the rich peeples used ta fly in. It was riginally for fire fightin, but for lotsa years they never needed it for that. Now it is probly buzzin with activity. See the airstrip is over a mile long. A jumbo jet could land on it; it just could never leave cuz it could not get high enuff to get over the mountins cuz they are HUGE. Anyway, they fly in peeples to fight the fires, and then they hafta hike back into the wilderness with all their quipments.
There is only one ridge left between the fire and mama's beloved Benchmark, and this evenin they issued mandatory evacuashuns from the area. They are settin up roadblocks, closin the hikin and horsie trails, and makin all the peeples leave. Mama sez the horsies and mules probly wanna leave pretty bad, so they will be happy.
Mama is gonna say her prayers tonight and ask for Benchmark to be spared. Peekie and I hope Benchmark will be OK cuz we have never beened there, and we wanna see Patrol Mountin and Double Falls and the campstergrounds and Wood Lake and...everything all green and beeeeutiful just like it is now.
Many purrs that Benchmark will be okay and safe from the fires.
Hugs to you all!! Sending purrs. It sure is smoky out there. we hope it will be ok - Nana's sister lives in Simi Ca, and we have worried about them when there are fires there - it is so sad that all that beauty is burning, but maybe the fire guys can get it in control. purrs We hate fires they are so scarey and so much is destroyed!please be safe and we are praying they will get it controlled and it won't burn your Mom's favorite place and all the beauty of Benchmark...
Several years ago we had bad fires here where we live it destroyed lots of homes and even jumped the big freeway!
Sending hugs and purrs to all and keep safe!
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July 31st 2012 at 5:22 pm