Amazing how we went from winter (snow on April 14) to wildfire season in a week, but that is what happened. A wildfire broke out on Thursday, April 17 (gentleman burning brush and it got out of control). Fire service thought they had it contained and were focused on all of the other fires around us. But Friday turned out to be windy and very dry and the fire sprang back to life and became known as the Pinnacle Ridge Fire.

While we knew it was close (smoke hung throughout town), we thought nothing of going hiking up the back part of our land. Near the ridge, we thought we heard someone walking in the woods. Close – fire was walking in the woods. A relatively low, cool fire, but it was burning and clearly too big for us to even think about doing anything other than getting off the mountain. Called fire and let them know where we saw it and then warned our neighbors so they knew how close it was.

Rain Saturday (April 19), so we went back up to check and put out many hot spots. Checked again on Sunday and repeated (and got buzzed several times by Forest Service helicopter also working to put out hot spots). Also noted where the Forest Service had come onto the property and cut several fire lines (thanks !!! My hat is off to you).

They finally got the fire out Thursday – a week after it started. Tough terrain, but they lost no structures. They are awesome.

So, we went back up to the ridge today and took some pictures. The good news is that the fire stayed mainly low to the ground (a hot fire jumps in the trees), so really just brush being burned. I will post some pictures this summer to show you how fast nature recovers from these things. But for now, two pictures from the top of our ridge showing the damage.

I could not resist. The last picture is not looking at the damage, but looking across the valley. While you may note a couple of damaged trees in the foreground, you also get to see the incredible beauty of this area.