Again? And Again? And Again...?

I was home from work by mid--afternoon yesterday (one of the perks of leaving for work when others are still dreaming) and was just sitting down to pay some bills when I heard it again, the far-off sound  of sirens.  As they got closer I started getting nervous.  Sure enough.  They stopped two doors down from us.

Remember the fire in the front yard of our next-door-neighbors' home last week?  Well, apparently there was a fire in the backyard of the people on the other side of them.  I thought that made this the third yard fire on our block recently but a neighbor girl came out and told me it was the 7th!  All the fires were within 2 houses of our home!

I didn't go too close to take a photo for you all as I didn't want to be the creepy neighbor.  However, when one of our local news anchors arrived and actually interviewed the fire captain, Sam and I went close enough to listen  He confirmed there had been multiple fires and they were under investigation.  Yikes!

 So far the fires have all been small and quickly extinguished so it just seems kind of mysterious at this point.  Don't worry, though. We are on alert now and we are aware of the danger.  Now we have to assume these are arson fires and we aren't taking that lightly.  In fact, I think maybe I'd better go water the lawn a bit... and maybe the garage... and perhaps the deck... and maybe the whole house!

Drama in the Neighborhood

Last night we had a little excitement in the neighborhood.  Mike was in at the church but Sam and I were home.  First, I thought I heard some hollering outside but saw nothing.  I muted the television but all was quiet.  The next thing Sam and I heard were far-off sirens.  Right then I had a strong feeling that those sirens were headed our way.  I was right!  The sirens stopped right next door.

It turns out that our neighbors had a small fire in their front yard.  They weren't home and we do not yet know why there was a fire.  It was really just a matter of  feet from our cars and our house. A row of dry trees line up between our house and their's.  It is great for privacy but certainly would have made powerful fuel.   Have I mentioned that Wyoming is in a drought?  It has been really, really dry around here.

The fire did not amount to much I guess.  It was out before I saw it.  The reason is this, a passing motorist took the time to care.  He or she saw it and called out for help (explaining the hollering I thought I heard).  The neighbor on the other side helped put out the fire before it became a big deal.  

I'm so very grateful to people who see a problem and do what they can to help.   I know there are people who would have just driven by, expecting someone else to handle the problem.   I don't know the name of the person alerting to the fire, but we are very appreciative.  I'm happy to be reporting just minor drama, nothing more.

I also want to give a shout out to all emergency services folks.  They walk into a lot of unknown situations on our behalf.  I am pretty sure we don't thank them enough.  If any of my readers are among our protectors, know that we are grateful!