Freeport on Fire

One thing I won't take for granted anymore? Firemen. I should clarify - Firemen who actively fight fires with high tech equipment.

Today, Rachel and I had a work day. I worked on my stuff, and she worked on her launch of her new jewelry shop, A Different Kind of Flair. (I'll have more on that later!)

Our work days are so nice. We can both sit and work together with company rather than being holed up in different apartments while our husbands study.

But today added a little more excitement than I wanted on a Thursday.

We got a text from Rachel's husband who was on campus asking if we could see the fire. Neither one of us knew what he was talking about. So we walked out the door to find this.

Oh, that fire.

It was a brush fire. It stretched for nearly two miles at one point. It was an extra breezy day in Freeport, so the wind really picked it up. We'd walk out at one point and see a new blaze in a completely different place. As you can see, it burned right through the neighborhood by our apartment.

Unlike in the United States, we didn't hear an overflow of sirens or horns. We heard one truck. One time.

It was a little odd.

As in the States, people will flock to watch something like this. Not here. No one seemed to be phased by it. None of the locals anyway. Very strange. Almost eerie. 

I started to worry a bit when I could smell the smoke inside the apartment. 

I packed an emergency bag with our passports and necessities just in case we needed to evacuate. 

We walked outside to more clouds of smoke. The fire stretched from the right side of Sunset outwardly behind us for a couple of miles taking out the brush and foliage on its way. 

Then I really got nervous when the wind shifted. We started getting ash blown onto us while we were outside. 

We waited awhile, and went back out to find out how close it was actually getting. 

That's a little too close for my comfort. Still - not hearing the firetrucks - even though they may have been there. We could, though, hear the crackling of the fire and see the waves of heat. 

So what would anyone do in this situation? Go for walk and watch the blaze.

And this is what we found.

Two firemen and a police officer watching a telephone pole burn in a big pile of brush. 

They weren't trying to put the fire out, so we were hoping this portion was mainly contained at this point. But interesting to see nonetheless.

The main area behind Sunset had cleared, so we walked around to see the damage.  People were out in their yards seeming to be so nonchalant about a major brush fire coming within yards of their homes.

We started to get into areas that had burned, and found an area that was sparking back up. So the guys went and put some dirt on it. That Eagle Scout sure does come in handy.

You can see there are some areas that were still smoldering. This was around 5:30 p.m. We first heard about the fire around 2 p.m.

Here is a TV that got scorched.

There was so much trash in this area of brush. So believe it or not, this wasn't the only TV within 10 feet.

I'm not sure what caused it or how many homes were damaged. One street we walked down had the brush burned all the way up next to a row of houses. We're not sure if the backside of the home was damaged at all. But it had to at least have had heat, smoke and water damage.

That's another thing. If this sort of thing happened at home, it would have been all over the news and social media. But we don't have that here. There is a newspaper, so we'll see if it's covered tomorrow.

Regardless, we are safe. I think the majority of the fires are out. And we still have power. So far anyway. I'm not holding my breath it will last all night.