It doesn't look THAT bad....
But then again, I tend to drive towards fire for some reason.

I'd like to say black ground doesn't burn twice, but I know better. It all depends on how well the ground is burnt. I've seen back burns go in one direction in the morning only to turn 180 degrees and RETURN to where they were started and JUMP the control line.

And that wasn't even the main fire, that was a burn designed to stop the main fire.

As was said, if you need to get out, get out BEFORE the fire hits. The fire can and WILL run faster then your car can drive.
If caught out, try to park your car on the downwind side of a clearing, road, river or embankment, wind the windows up and get as low as you can.

If you don't have a car with you (ie, hunting) then try to find a hollow, large fallen tree to hide behind and under. Cover yourself with dirt as best you can, if you have time, dig deeper into the ground to hide.

Believe me, standing on the back of a fire truck with a hose ready, with four other trucks very close by and a "small" fire coming straight for us, even I get on edge. A person with little experience with fire will be going crazy with fear. But you can survive them.

Fireman_DJ wrote:

Believe me, standing on the back of a fire truck with a hose ready, with four other trucks very close by and a "small" fire coming straight for us, even I get on edge. A person with little experience with fire will be going crazy with fear. But you can survive them.

I spent 7 years on our local fire dept... seen fire do some crazy things during that time. At times I miss it... I left for political reasons rather than anything else. The fighting of fires was pretty enjoyable, luckily I never got involved in any fatalities.

This fire was started by an backhoe digging in cheat grass. Winds were 30 to 40mph so it spread really quick. We only had .01" of rain the entire month of June so you can imagine how dry a desert area can get over a month.

We just got a pretty good rain storm today that lasted 4-5 hours. No smoke that I can see so the BLM will just watch for hotspots. They have 500 fire fighters on scene still.

-DallanC

RAIN...great to hear mate. Fingers crossed, that will be the end of this fire.

It's good to hear that you and your family, as well as your extended family have come out relatively unscathed mate.

Cheers, Vince