When to Run Into A Fire

All throughout areas of Washington state there is burn ban due to a high risk of fires.  Just this last week there was one really close to the camp where my family and friends were staying at, and it gave most of us a fright.  I especially felt unnerved, because I discovered that I did not know what to do in the case of a forest fire. As it was, the group I was with pretty much packed up their cars, and decided that we would wait for the camp manager to tell us to evacuate.  Once my family had the car packed up, I drove a little down the hill, and waited only finding out later that might not have been the best choice either. Though the fire wasn’t too big, it was bigger than any I had ever seen loose in the forest. Actually, this is the only time that I have even been near an uncontrolled blaze.  Keeping this in mind, I decided to write an article about what it is that should be done have been done before the fire ever existed.

What I learned most about his experience with a forest fire, this seemingly close “brush with death” you may say, is that I wish that I had known what to do.  Therefore the first step of what to do in a forest fire is knowing what the protocol is. That is, when arriving at a new campsite, or hiking trail when the fire hazard is high, learn what the protocol is for that area is.  Find out what to do if you see a fire. Seek out the person that is in charge of calling an evacuation. Discover where the fire extinguishers, water sources, or hoses are located. When someone called “fire” at my campsite, I thought that they were overreacting.  I figured that everything would be fine, because it always is. What it took for me to realize that it was serious was for someone who was calm, and yet brave enough to run toward the fire to tell me how bad it was. At that point I sort of panicked, and we raced to pack the car.

The time to run into a fire is to be a helper.  Without the team of people that congregated together from different campsites, this story could have a different ending.  As I sat in my car waiting to see if I should leave, I tried not to panic. The camp that we were in only had one way out.  I wanted to make sure that we could get out if needed. However, I later found out that you want to see were the fire is going before you evacuate.  If the fire is roaring down the mountain, then it may be best to stay put. After the fire was declared put out, I still wasn’t sure if I was going to stay at camp.  But right at that moment, the rain began to fall. As I stood there being devoured by mosquitos, I still wasn’t so sure that we were truly safe. My stomach prevailed, and I decided to stay at least through dinner time.  In that time the heavens opened, and the rain poured. It continued to do so. Never had thunder sounded so welcome, or the fall of rain had felt so good.

All photos taken, and provided by the talented: Andrew Kvenvolden