Light posting tonight - a little neighborhood excitement

Busy day today -- ran payroll for the store. I love doing this because we have an awesome crew and it feels good giving them a decent wage for their work. Yesterday, a trailer parked near some friends (actually, one of our employees and his wife) caught fire. Not so much caught fire but almost exploded -- fireball and all that. There is a lot of poverty in this area -- it is one of the last relatively cheap places to live. Get a plot of land for $30K and bring in a trailer and you are all set. With the poverty comes drugs and there have been many meth labs found by the local constabulary. I have not heard the story but I think that yesterday's event was another meth lab announcing its existence and that it was closed for business. The problem is that it was parked on a wooded hillside and the trees caught fire. They were still on fire today. Here are some photos:
The crew yesterday.


The fire today -- driving back from town.


Dropping water.


Dropping water.


Dropping water.


Dropping water.


The two choppers working together. No word as to any injuries or property damage from the fire. Our local newspaper has this story:

Large fire burning north of Kendall, no homes threatened
A 60-acre forest fire was burning about one mile north of Kendall in the Red Mountain area Friday, May 1, but was not threatening any homes.

The fire was reported at about 5 p.m. Thursday, said Mark Morrow, public information officer for the Department of Natural Resources. The cause of the fire is under investigation, but Morrow said people might have started it. No lightning struck the area, and no power lines have gone down near it.

The fire grew to 60 acres overnight but firefighting efforts had halted its growth Friday.

Helicopters and about 100 people were fighting the fire Friday evening, Morrow said. If it doesn�t get windy and the forecasted rain comes through, firefighters could wind down their efforts Saturday.

Praying for rain -- our house is on the Eastern slope of that mountain and the wind comes out of the West...