April 14, 2020

Note the date, it is not quite the middle of April. Wouldn’t think you would have to worry about forest fires this early in the season, but that is exactly what we need to be concerned with. The missus and I began our daily walk about noon and as we came to the end of the driveway to head out we noticed smoke rising across the road and up the hill from us. Jim, our neighbor and Hoodland Fire volunteer, came racing down the road and said that there was a fire up the hill at Chandler’s and he was going to the station to get the water tender. He said there were fire rigs coming and asked us to stay at the driveway and direct them up to the fire. Minutes later the chief and battalion chief came racing up the road, followed shortly by two other fire engines. Chandler, a logger, was doing some clearing on his property and had a large burn pile going. Evidently sparks from the burn blew into trees and in seconds we had a fire.The battalion chief from the fire department had been at Chandler’s this morning and issued a burn permit, so this was not an illegal burn. Talking to Chandler and his wife, Maria, it is scary how quickly this thing got out of control. It is easy to see from this incident how forest fires get started in the summer and fall from a few sparks, so listen to Smokey The Bear. It is now 5:00 pm and the fire personnel are just leaving the scene.

This weather and living up here where we do has certainly made it easier to be stuck at home during the tRumpVirus. I certainly feel for folks who live in apartments in the flatlands and are stuck indoors during this mess. Sending good thoughts to all my comrades as we weather this. It sounds like Oregon, Washington, and California are the poster child for how a mitigation process should work. I just read that the governor of South Dakota has not had a stay at home order, to the dismay of mayors and health officials, and is now home to one of the largest single coronavirus clusters anywhere in the United States. Smithfield, one of the larger pork processing plants in the US, located in Sioux Falls, had to shut down because 300 of their workers have come down with the virus. The mayor of the city has had to make voluntary recommendations in the absence of a statewide order, and has made requests to the governor for an order, which has fallen on deaf ears. More than 160 county and city leaders have signed a petition urging her to declare a statewide public health emergency. She thinks, however, that hydroxychloroquine is the answer and in a briefing yesterday boasted, “It’s an exciting day,” repeatedly talking about her conversations with Jared Kushner. Unbelievable!

I guess the United States is in headlines all over the globe tonight after the stable genius has made the decision to halt funding to the World Health Organization. Now, from what I have read, the WHO probably did not do a very good job early on as the virus was starting in Wuhan. tRump’s reason for this decision, however, I see as more of a deflection of blame for his dismal performance in the early stages of the pandemic. He has proven to be very good at deflection, but this may be the one time it doesn’t work.

Anyhoo, I’m glad Chandler, Maria and the kids are all safe tonight, although the kids probably liked all the excitement of them thar fire trucks.

Time to sign off. Keep smilin’ y’all. I just have to say one more time. STAY SAFE, STAY HEALTHY, STAY HOME! (hopefully not too much longer). Ziggyman from the living room.