Tuesday, Babies, Littles , extreme heat, fire

 Kelsa spent the night last night and right now she and grandpa are both napping under a fan in the spare bedroom.  The littles were so excited to come today and they are fascinated by the baby. Playing outside is out of the question with the heat.  It was 98 here at 8 this morning so we know it will well into the triple digits by noon.  It was recorded 111 here but as I have said before our temp is taken at the airport at the top of the tower.  So it will be cooler up in the heights. We registered 113 here and the normal hill area was 117, and downtown which is below sea level  was 121.  

I might get hubs to pull out the baby pool later and put it under an umbrella.  This was the kids can cool off and stay in the shade.  I still have to go out and water the pots.  We had friends call who said they lost a couple of chickens to the heat.  I took out a large bag of frozen peas and scattered them throughout the coop. This was expensive chicken feed, but seemed to perk them up.  We also changed their water for cold several times and put up more shade for them. 

I was able to get two wedding dresses done yesterday and I hope to be able to get 6 pair of missionary pants done today and a couple of wedding dresses.  The littles are so grown up now, it is hard to believe that when we first started watching them the eldest was not a year old and her brother was three weeks old.  Oh how mom loved the days the babies came.  They were her favorite.  She would get up early and sit in her recliner and rock the baby and feed him and boss me around all day.  I did not know a thing about taking care of a baby :).  They would nap together and she spent hours rocking and patting his back.  Good memories. I think she felt useful and who doesn't love a precious baby.

Hubs was fighting fire for several seasons before we married.  He has a degree in fire management.  He actually wrote his senior thesis on fire in the urban interface.  This was almost  50 years ago.  It was also before wildfires started to invade the urban areas.  His dean wanted it published as he could see that this is what the future held.  As more and more federal land was not cut and managed for over growth, fuels would come to an all time high. This is what is causing the problems we have now.  Nature will always take back it's own and fire is a natural part of landscape control.  In fact some trees cannot seed themselves without fire. But I digress.

Most fires are not caused by man as they would like you to believe, but by lightening.  WHEN A FOREST IS OLD AND OVERGROWN IT WILL NATURALLY BURN.  Man cannot stop it, we can try and control where we can, but we will never stop wild fire.

Firefighting, is dirty, nasty, very hard, hot, dangerous work. ( it can also be very cold at night)  These crews years ago could spend 20 hour days with a Pulaski ( a grub how with a hatchet on the other side) digging fire line.

  You dig until your arms give out and then wait a few minutes and start again.  Your hands blister and you wrap them in bandages and keep going.  You are fighting nature and she is a mean woman. 

My first memory with hubs, occurred when our eldest was about 5 months old.  Hubs was on a fire crew in the Seeley/Swan ranger district in Montana.  He had a small trailer that he staying in next to the fire station.  Fire fighters are gone for weeks at a time and back then there were no rules about how long or how many days they could be out.  I remember he finally got a break and called me long distance to come up for the weekend.  It was about 80 miles from Missoula where we were living.  I was packing up baby gear and got another phone call and I could here choppers in the back ground.  So no day off he was getting picked up to be dropped into the Bob Marshall wilderness.  He was gone 20 days and as it was wilderness they could be dropped in but not picked up unless it was for medical reasons.  They had to hike out.  Wilderness is protected by noise ordinances. This hike out about killed all of them.  I can't imagine working that hard and then having to hike 40 miles to get to a road to be picked up.  He still talks about it.

That same summer I managed to get up to see him and of course as soon as I got there with the baby the choppers were sounding.  It was like a scene from MASH. Men in  half gear running every where trying to make sure they had all their stuff packed and loaded.  Many had fire clothes still  on the lines and there was snatching and flurried packing as they headed out.  I will always remember how noisy those helicopters were, our oldest did not like loud noises. We only had one car so I had my dad take me up and I was stuck there unless I wanted to leave Hubs with no car, which I could have but while I was making the decision, bus loads of dirty men started pouring into camp.  There was a huge industrial kitchen there but no cook.  The big boss came to my trailer  and asked me to go check out the kitchen as they were desperate to feed the incoming men.  

Luckily I had grown up with a grandmother that owned restaurants and had worked in them.  I remember making stew and biscuits and coffee far into the night.  The baby was fine as she was passed around from fire fighter to fire fighter and always in my sight.  Then it was hotcakes, coffee, scrambled eggs and sausage the next morning.  I packed sack lunches for hours.  It became obvious that this was going to become a high incident fire.  I was asked to go get supplies as there was no one else to call.  The secretary at the land office watched the baby and I took a huge truck (the biggest I have ever driven) into Kalispell and it was loaded with groceries to the brim and then back to the fire station.  A new incident commander was flown in and there I was a 23 year old woman and a 5 month old baby in a huge kitchen surrounded by supplies. I stayed and cooked for 3 more days until a proper cook could be obtained.   I then stayed on as an assistant cook, and step and fetch it.  I cannot tell you how much laundry I did and how many loads I pegged out on wash lines to dry in the few weeks I was there. Men were sleeping out on the lawn in the shade of trees just happy to get some rest.  They would sleep and sleep for hours so exhausted. They would not wake up for meals, and they could sleep through the helicopters coming in.

 I did not see my husband for another month. HE was so surprised when he rolled into camp and I was still there. They added my hours to Hub's paycheck.  This was something that would never happen today.  They are much more organized at fighting fire now. 

It was a real eye opener for me, to see what these men went through.  It was good money, very good money.  Hubs was not employed most of the year those first 10 years of marraige, but he always was able to fight fire in the summer. I think he enjoyed it.  I think most long term firefighters love there work, as back breaking, dirty and dangerous as it can be.  Hubs never really told me any danger stories until after he retired.  I think he knew better.  More tomorrow.

I do think we have to appreciate these men and woman who go out and fight fire, it is an awful job and becomes more dangerous every year.

I have work to do and I had better get started.

Have a great and productive day staying positive while you are in the negative.

Kim