Thanks to the firefighters!

Last Friday, several of my friends were evacuated from their homes because a fire was dangerously close to their neighborhood. I had trouble determining exactly where the fire was burning, but I knew that it was within the same square mile as my son's school where I also work. I now know that I have to say a big thanks to the 50 firefighters from 3 departments who deployed 12 brushpumpers and 5 tankers to keep the fire from spreading any further. And a special thanks goes to the National Guard who sent a helicopter to drop water on the fire. If not for them, I might not have a classroom this year.

I took this picture from the edge of our school parking lot. Families dropping students off for school often see turkeys and deer in these woods. I was shocked that the fire burned this closely to the school.

The path of the fire is harder to see in this picture, but the shadow in the center background is not really a shadow. The grass has burned very close to our school playground. You can see the playground equipment in the distance. Between the woods and the playground is our blacktop and soccer field.

So, in thanks, we helped take baked goods from the residents of the neighborhood and families from the school to the local firefighters.

The kids were treated to a tour. Now we have actually seen a brushpumper and a tanker.