1:30 am phone rings:CALL 911- theres a fire up at the hillhouseMe: is the house on fire?Neighbor Joe: dont know yet. A tree was hit & powerline over the House is on fire – call nowMe: has anyone moved in there yet?Joe: not yet- its clear *click* hangs up. This call came in Sunday before last. my heart stopped. (Ever since our house burned to the ground in the 7th grade, House & forest fires have been my single biggest paranoia) So now im Running up the hill in the middle of the night giving our address to dispatch trying not throw up- theyre telling me to stay inside in case a live power line was down.) Over the crest of the hill in front of me all I can see is flooding lights coming from the house. (flames or headlights?) That 100 yard walk to the hilltop crest took forever / Head: This isnt possible. Rain is coming down so hard it hurts. Heart: its happening again. Like our house. My sisters house. It was bound to happen againAnd there it is- A hovering Powerline sparking & throwing flames. The Sherrif is standing in the road in the downpour without an umbrella. The fire chief is on the phone monitoring from his truck blocking the street. Our ranger and a neighbor…. (it was headlights throwing the most light.)*exhale* This house is not going to burn down tonight. I learn later that they call this arcing. The crews would stay up that night in the rain- calling in the power lineman (the 1st responders like my little Brother who go up high to cut live lines clear in all weather ). If it where not for the downpour (that was cursing all the campers that night) This night would have a much too familiar ending. The next morning, it was like nothing happened. Bright skies. Calm Waters. campers stumbling towards the smell of coffee beans- having thankfully slept through it. The hillhouse still stands. because Im irrationally superstitious, were going to give credit to the cabin’s patron saint – prior owner Ruth Lessons learned: You can never ever have enough fire alarms. 1st responders are the most selfless humans on the planetlosing perspective is much worse than anything we can lose in a house fire #TakeNothingForGranted
