A small army

Here in the high desert, it's fire season. A thunderstorm is not welcomed for the cooling rain that it may bring, but feared for the fires that it may generate. Last year there were no fires in our immediate area, but this year is different. For the last couple of weeks there have been large fires burning in Sisters and the Mitchell area, sending smoke our way. So we really didn't notice when the fires started here. The Two Cabins Complex, as it is called, consists of several smallish fires to the east and south of Monument. The fires were initially started by lightning from a storm we had on the 8th. Since then we have had two more thunderstorms, and several other fires have come up and then been suppressed. Since Monument is at the center of this complex, the fire fighters are using our town as a base of operations.

When you put 478 fire personnel, 5 helicopters, 19 fire engines, and several prop planes into a town of about 200, it's an overwhelming change. A small army has descended upon Monument. Overnight, they arrived and set up camp. The streets are crammed with official looking vehicles and crawling with people. There is a city of tents filling the park and stretching across the football field. A constant procession of supply trucks arrives on the highway. The airport has been taken over with a couple of Blackhawk helicopters and an RV parked on the runway.

As for the fires themselves, they are not as threatening as the devastating fires that threatened the town in 2001. [That fire complex was about 10 times the size of this one, and so serious that the National Guard and FEMA were called out.] One official web site says that 971 acres are involved, the fire is 50% contained, and they expect that it will be 100% contained by tomorrow. Another official web site implies that the crews will be here for awhile. Yesterday's storm may have started more fires, and there may be more storms on the horizon.

I'll add some photos of the tent city to this post when I get a chance.