I have the best audience. More on that later.
About 22 years ago, my family and I had just returned from a two-week vacation to Yellowstone. After finishing the blessing for dinner on the covered patio, I looked at the skyline to the northwest. Smoke, just a small pillar.
I wasn’t the first to call 911 that afternoon.
We all watched the fire explode over the mountain to the northeast as we continued eating. Aaron and I were amazed at how quickly that fire spread, even though there was only the slightest breeze. Dead grass on the mountain slopes will do that. We also couldn’t believe the fools who drove up the foothills to watch the fire advance toward them.
We’ve moved a few times since then, almost always to a place where wildfire poses the greatest natural disaster threat. Our current home is no exception, except to maybe be in greater danger. Our house was a staging area for a couple of hot shot crews when fire threatened our neighborhood a couple of years before we moved in.
What differs this time is that Aaron, KOTPE, and I are now members of the local volunteer fire department. Don’t worry, I’m not fighting fires. I’m just making sure the crews will be fed. You can worry about Aaron and KOTPE, if you wish.
And the reason I mention this topic today is that Anonymous emailed me last week specifically to mention an app for being notified about wildfires, and he said he added my area to his list, which really touched me. The app is called Watch Duty (https://app.watchduty.org/) and there is a free version that provides all the basic info you need—real time alerts on wildfires in areas of concern to you, like your house or neighborhood, in the western US. I just loaded it myself.
Anonymous and our VFD chief recommend the professional version.
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