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Prayers and water needed

coach2709coach270910,000+ posts
Earlier today we turned our kids out of school due to a forest fire located on the firing range of Camp Lejeune. Not real sure how the fire got started but it's either a controlled burn that got out of hand or when they fired a tank and it caught something on fire. They have started evacuating areas near our school and the fire seems to keep going.

We let our kids out at 11 AM and by 11:20 I was in the student parking lot which is next to the highway and across the highway is the Camp Lejeune forest area. When I got to the parking lot you could tell the fire was heading south away from the school. But you could feel the wind change and start blowing towards where we were standing. Within a few minutes you could tell the fire was heading back towards us and the school. It was really surreal to see the fire and actually feel the fire head toward us. That's when I decided to get the heck out of Dodge.

I live about 20 minutes from the school so I think I'm in good shape because the fire is heading toward the ocean but there is a community in it's path.

Last reports I got was that the median on the highway was on fire in front of the school. The fire had jumped across the highway about a quarter mile north of the school and was working around a gas station beside our middle school (which is directly next to our high school) and heading to a trailer park behind our school.

It's starting to get pretty ugly and we're not expected to get any rain until around Sunday. Worst part is we got some rain last night but it was like putting a band aid on a shark bite - right idea but not quite enough.

Here is our local paper and what they have reported so far.

http://www.jdnews.com/news/fir...ficials-control.html

Nothing can stop the man with the right mental attitude from achieving his goal; nothing on earth can help the man with the wrong mental attitude. Thomas Jefferson

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coach2709coach270910,000+ posts
Thanks guys - just got a text from my backup catcher and he said his family is packing things up and getting ready to evacuate.

One of my football players said ash was falling like snow in his yard earlier.

On facebook several of out students are talking about how they are being evacuated or preparing to evacuate.

A girl I teach with was evacuated earlier tonight.

If it heads south then I'm outta here and heading to places farther away.
G gotwood4sale10,000+ posts
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Whaddya' think 44? Should we dig out the canteens, the Nomex© garb, a gated wye, a Forester Fog© nozzle, a couple of pulaskis, and scratch a line around coach and his kids?

Your account of events coach has my adrenaline stirring. Once smoke gets in your blood it never leaves. Right 44?

So long as you don't have any heavy fuel close to your house and buildings you should be ok. You might want to clear out your gutters if there are any leaves or needles in them. At the very least soak them down if you can't clean them out. No sense in letting an errant spark take your house or buildings!

I just read all of the advisories following the article. It appears your relative humidity must be low, your winds rather high, and plenty of fuel available. That is not a good combination. Keep us posted coach.



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Last edited by gotwood4sale
coach2709coach270910,000+ posts


This is a picture of the treeline across the highway from our school. This was around noon today and when I left around 12:30 the fire was very near the treeline coming at the school.



This is a pic of the sun around noon today. The smoke was super thick.



Probably can't see it but there is a firetruck in the pic and you could see the flames in the trees if you look under the truck. This is also on the highway beside our school.



Great story here - if you look just to the right of the truck you can see smoke. This was a random fire that broke out fairly soon after the wind changed direction heading back to the school. Nobody was around except for the state trooper closing the highway. Out of nowhere this guy shows up with a shovel and by this time you could see the flames. We were like what is this guy going to do with a shovel and he jumped right in and started working. He put the small fire out by himself. That guy is a beast.



This was taken about two hours ago or so. This is on the highway about 3 miles south of the school on the highway. The wind is really bad tonight and moving it everywhere.

One of our coaches has had to evacuate his house now. Just found that out.
Last edited by coach2709
G gotwood4sale10,000+ posts
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    "Out of nowhere this guy shows up with a shovel and by this time you could see the flames. We were like what is this guy going to do with a shovel and he jumped right in and started working. He put the small fire out by himself. That guy is a beast."


The guy knows what he is doing. He understands the Fire Triangle. Break one side of the triangle and a fire can not survive. It doesn't always take water to break a side of the triangle. He interfered with the oxygen and the fuel with his brain, braun, and shovel. Good man!



Don't disregard those gutters. The fire behavior with this fire is erratic with the winds switching direction frequently. You're relatively safe now, but conditions can change in a hurry. Use the time to pull any fuel away from your house and buildings. Scatter it as broadly as possible so if it does burn it won't be concentrated.

And just so you know, in light fuels like grass, a wet line can be established quickly and with a moderate amount of water. Light fuels absorb water rapidly to the point where they will not burn. To establish a line, just wet a continuous narrow line (3' to 4' wide) around whatever you want to protect. When the grass fire runs up to this wet line it can not advance. Heavier fuels are a whole different story, but if grass is the fuel this technique works. Make sure the wet line stays wet and doesn't evaporate. Establish it just prior to the fire making a run.

The erratic conditions makes it difficult for the fire commander to come up with a single strategy. Lots and lots of variables to consider all of the time...constantly changing. Not unlike the conditions that bedevil a good baseball coach!

Again, keep us posted. Thanks.


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Last edited by gotwood4sale

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