Friday, May 12, 2006

The Forest is CLOSED!

locked, chained, barred, lights out!

Dry, dry, dry - dryer - driest.
Did you know that a forest can be closed? Road blocks up at the turnoffs. Plastic tape across trailheads. It's really amazing.

And that's how DRY it is here. The fire danger is HUGE! We're considered to be a tinderbox in a flint factory. There are hot-shot crews camping out in local motels because the risks are so high.
You know what else? Ruidoso has virtually no water. You can hand-water outdoor plants on Tuesdays only.
Whew....

Tourists are greeted at the edges of towns with lighted signs saying, No Campfires, Forest Closed, No Outdoor Smoking....oh, yeah, and Welcome to Ruidoso...

It is no longer legal to smoke anywhere except inside your home or vehicle. (Well, there are several money-grubbing restaurants which still insist on maintaining smoking sections and we have one cigar bar.)
I saw a young (addicted) woman outside a (no smoking inside) convenience store where she works trying to smoke: she was crouched on the ground between an ice machine and the open door (to the store) in a tiny triangle created by machine, door and wall.....
A local was fined $500 for throwing a cigerette out her car window.

When a friend inquired about a fire in her firepit (for her birthday bash) she was told that the fine w/be $5000, and that rangers would come looking for the source of smoke.

It's serious, folks.
Please think moist thoughts.

We've had our usual fire season talk here at home. We know which file drawer has to go into the car, and which art pieces need to be grabbed and where the cat box is (it's already stocked with food).
If a fire actually breaks, we'll start putting things in the cars. Since so much of our stuff is packed, we might even load a small trailer we have.....

We smelled smoke this morning. Joel said she first smelled it about 4:30 AM. Normally, we'd ignore it; today we got up and drove around looking for smoke... didn't find it/heard no sirens/saw the hot-shot trucks still at the motel, so we finally decided that someone had gotten cold in the night and lit a fireplace fire...still legal.... Whew!

The 'rainy season' here usually doesn't start until July 4th. 6-7 weeks.

Another reason a move is a good idea.

If you know a rain dance, or a rain dancer....get to it, please.

5 Comments:

At 11:07 AM, Blogger Kristie said...

I'm on a Rumba ramble for you today, mixed in with a slight twist to get those clouds seeded with H2O! Without water - it's hard to create and we dry up!

Living in the Pacific Northwest, we usually do the Sunshine Dance - so this movement will be a little different for me.....my wiggles may not waggle right, but I'll definitely give it a shot! :-)

I have the initials KM so Karaoke and Margaritaville might just be the way to go! Thanks for the tip.

Wishing you rain, and a fast and smooth move.

K

 
At 11:20 AM, Blogger Kate Winner said...

Thanks, Kristi,
I can definitely spare some sunshine for you. Watch for it coming your way....(i'll lift it up over the clouds so I don't dry out what you're sending down here :D

 
At 8:59 AM, Blogger Erin said...

Always freaks me out how some part of the world is drowning (horrible floods in Eastern Europe) while another dries to a crisp.

One legged hopping rain dance on it's way.
Be safe.

 
At 12:17 AM, Blogger Erin said...

I think Nancy is on to something. Get all of your neighbors to jump - hard, all at once. Lots of water out east...

 
At 11:02 AM, Blogger Laura said...

Wow.
I just have to say this is a powerful post.
I mean, you hear about the fire season and all but this gave me the actual flavor (mesquite?) of what you are actually living with.
NO.
I did not know you could close a forest.
Nature is doing her best over here to help us recover from our recent drought. I agree with Erin, the contrasts are mind blowing when you look across our geographies.

 

Post a Comment

<< Home