It's Not Over Yet

Smoke and heat are to
continue for another
day at least - My God!

I was out at 7 AM, picked up my drive-thru breakfast as usual and headed for Vantage Point on the Thompson River by the airport. 

I sat in my car looking out at my mountains, still hazy with smoke. 

Last evening was more excitement than I would care to experience again. We started the day with a little smoke in the valleys but it thickened considerably by noon. The forecast promised thunderstorms in the last part of the day and we were not surprised by the thunder, lightning and rain showers that started just at dark. Lightning hits on the hills and mountains around the valleys started fires. The major concern was a fire in the east end of the city. Residents of Juniper Ridge were evacuated and fire crews worked on the fire. I could watch it all from my deck facing east. 

I had my emergency bag and a few belongings ready to go, if need be. Friends called to check on me and offer a refuge if I needed it. We had a fire close to my house a couple of years ago, so I've had some practice. I've proved to myself that I can be out and gone in under 10 minutes if necessary. 

This morning I could see a helicopter with a water bucket taking off from the airport and heading for Juniper Ridge. The rain overnight was most welcome. We have big puddles but we could certainly use more rain to compensate for the very dry, hot days we've had. Those puddles will be gone today as the heat comes up again. 

I left a quilted heart attached to a bench at Vantage Point. That beautiful  blue chickory is in abundance in that area. The sparkle at the river's edge was lovely this morning.

Temperatures are forecast to moderate somewhat after tomorrow. We had a low of 18 C overnight with a high today of 32 C promised. 

I will be indoors and hiding again today.