The pictures I saw this morning of the village of Ruidoso, N.M. engulfed in flames left a sick sensation in the pit of my stomach. The alert to residents to evacuate immediately without pausing to take anything with them would have to activate the cortisol level in a person's brain to the maximum. I suspect that fear had to be the common denominator for all who found themselves in that locality.
Of course, I've seen pictures of communities in flames before. I'm fairly certain that the same kind of sick sensation in the pit of my stomach was probably activated in those circumstances as well.
I remember a time at our last home when I was preparing the grill for steaks. I used a match to lite the charcoal and turned to go back inside the house. I had gotten as far as our patio before I turned and saw the back yard was in flames.
An immediate sense of panic filled my being. It was winter. The water hose was in the well house and the water hydrants were wrapped for the winter. I yelled for the General. I wanted her to call the fire department. She was a little slow to respond. I'm assuming she didn't hear me. I finally got her attention and then ran to the well house to get a water hose.
It was not a good time to trip and fall, but I did. My first thought was that I'd always be remembered as the man responsible for destroying homes and burning hundreds of acres. At a heightened level of cortisol in my system, I can be so dramatic in my thought processes.
Long story short, I got the water hose connected and the fire extinguished before it moved outside our back yard. Had the wind been blowing, that would not have been the case. I clearly remember the sense of panic I experienced.
As it turned out, the fire department in the small community near our house was only staffed 8:00 to 5:00 Monday through Friday. Those are the same hours of the day that most people are not home. That's a rant for a different day.
We were able to telephone and cancel the request for the fire department before they arrived.
Obviously, the challenges awaiting folks in Ruidoso are beyond anything I can imagine. My heart and prayers go out to them.
All My Best!
Don
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