Finally! Rain!

[Flintstone]

So far the predicted rain hasn't materialized in any meaningful amount. We're still in a severe drought. Supposedly rain is coming in tonight but the forecast has changed and we're predicted to get much less. We're in the area of the heaviest amount. I'll believe it when I see it in the rain gauge.

So in keeping with the drought a newly arrived person from the city decided to burn a huge brushpile today. On top of the drought and the forest being a tinderbox, it's also very windy today. No one in their right mind would think of burning ANYTHING(!). To consider burning a humongous brush pile is complete insanity. To hand out a burning permit should be criminal but my understanding is that he was able to obtain one. We came home today to smoke billowing up just a short distance away and the fire trucks coming up the road to get this gents cookies out of his fire. Over 2 hours later they're still there.

I question the mental balance of anyone who would issue a burning permit under these conditions, and just because someone got a burn permit that doesn't mean it should be done. City folk! Brainless moron!  Absolutely no sense of responsibility or cause and effect! Yeah, I'm POed. No one likes to think they can leave and find their place burned to the ground because of some mindless act by someone who should still be in the city.

At least one of the responding fire vehicles is heading out as I write this.

I haven't been up there but their 5th wheel camping trailer was set up downwind from the brush pile. You'd think that would have given them a second to think since they owned it. I have no idea if it's still standing.

We've had rain (thankfully), but this weekend I went on 4 different "Grass Fire" calls, which were 4 different individuals who decided they had to burn their tree or their leaves, since it was a beautiful day.  Not too much humidity, nice breeze...oh wait....gee, I wonder if my giant bond fire will be affected by the wind....nah, my family home is 40 yards away from the fire (that's almost a half of a football field), my tree line (woods filled with pine straw and nice burnable privet bushes) are at least 20 yards away....yeah, I'm good.   So needless to say, every single call went out as "Grass fire...homeowner says the fire is heading towards both their house and towards the woods."   But my favorite was the guy who started his bonfire, jumped on his tractor, and promptly hit his natural gas line....broke the meter, and managed to break the cutoff as well.  The gas line was 35 yards from his fire, so he rightly freaked out and called 911.  We were able to cut the gas at the main cutoff before things got interesting.  Then there was the homeowner who didn't want us to put his tree stump fire out after we contained the blaze...."I mean, c'mon.....most of the burnable stuff is already burned, so I should be fine".   Also had medical calls:  stroke victim who needed a helicopter ride to get to the hospital, a guy who had a bad reaction to some bad narcotics, a self-described bi-polar guy who drove a transport van into the side of the building (this was his last act during the wild road chase by Sheriff's deputies).   

It was a crazy weekend....nice weather= insane behavior, I'm ALMOST looking forward to tropical storm Delta which is coming this weekend.