[weazletoe]

 Had my police scanner on yester early afternoon. Around 1:30 p.m. I hear  "Yeah, I think I'm gonna need another engine up here. The wind is pretty strong from the north, I don't think I can contain it myself."  About 3 hours later, I walk on the front lawn an see this!!



 Holly was literally standing in our front yard when she took this pic. As the crow flies, it's about a mile from the house. Turns out, a couple kids were playing with matches and toilet paper. I've been able to count three C-130's dropping fire retardent, and about six small planes dropping water. There is one giant helicopter with a tank and snorkle dropping water, and a smaller one with a bucket. Nurmerous trucks, etc... I can't imagine the cost involved. So far, about 1200 acres have burned, and they have it 25% contained. That I know of, one house has been lost.
  It's kind of a sick thing, but it has been very cool to watch. I mean, this is happening in my front yard, making drips right in front of my eyes! The planes are in a flight path right over my house! I have all the fire departments, the Beareau of Land Management, and the Pocatello airport all programmed in my scanner, so I can hear it all go down in real time.

[euge]

That's wild! Hope no-one gets hurt.

[theDarkSide]

Will that stuff get into your ground water and screw up your brewing? 

Let's hope they get it contained...looks cool but I can imagine it must be really scary.  Especially if you feel the wind shift.

Good luck!

[jaybeerman]

I played with matches as a kid but never ventured into playing with toilet paper.  I did nearly burn down my dad’s garage once, thank god it was nearly or I might not be alive to tell the story. 

Yeah that looks a little too close for comfort.  Hope all goes well, you might start watering the lawn.

[pinnah]

Woha, matches AND toilet paper.  Dang kids

Fun to watch the planes I bet.  'lil western PJ fire.  no worries, yer hose is always handy right?

A little Potatoello lawn chair entertainment.  Hope your buds have not drank all your brew. 

[corkybstewart]

This summer a retardant tanker took off from the airfield in Roswell NM and instead of retracting the landing gear the pilot opened the cargo hold and spread fire retardant all over a subdivision.  So instead of fighting the fire  the BLM spent a couple of days washing peoples houses and cars.

[majorvices]

Keep that garden hose handy, buddy! 

A few years ago in Georgia I was heading back to the car from an overnight backpacking trip on the AT when we started to notice thin whisps of smoke hovering though the forest. Another hiker coming the other way said there was a fire at the same gap we had parked our car! We were on a high ridge and there was a lake below us and we could see the planes landing in the lake and taking in water and taking off again. You could also see where the fire was on part of the mountain ahead. It was pretty cool, but a little scary since our car was up that way. We were lucky, had we parked just one more gap to the north we would have been cut off from our car by the fire.

[bluesman]

That's a scary sight. Hope they can get it under control soon. Any rain in the forecast?

Stay safe.

[weazletoe]

Rain in the forecast?! HA!! I live in the high desert, buddy! The said on the noon news that it was 25% contained, but I don't see any more smoke to speak of, and the air drops seem to have stopped a while ago. Not sure what the deal is.
  It would have to make some pretty serious leaps to be of nussiance to me, so I'm not worried. Just sitting back, and enjoying the show. As for lawn chair enterrainment, that's exactly what it is. People up on their roofs watching, and lots of people were actually camped out on their lwas, in lawn chairs, with coolers! Gotta love a good hick!! 

[nicneufeld]

I played with matches as a kid but never ventured into playing with toilet paper. 

Add one more ingredient...matches, toilet paper, and used frying oil...and you have my extra cheap method for lighting charcoal briquettes in a chimney starter.  A wad of toilet paper doused in waste oil burns quite well, without the airborne ash and other crap from using newspaper for the purpose.  And of course, I don't get the newspaper, so I had to improvise anyway...

Back on topic, yikes.  I love the West but it can be a rough place at time.  I remember seeing hills on fire in southern CA at times.  Stay safe!

[punatic]

Will that stuff get into your ground water and screw up your brewing? 

A commercial:
Big beefy smoke-jumper holds up a beer bottle, "After a hard day of battling flames I reach for a Fire Retardant Red Ale!"

Keep your ear to the scanner and get your new ride ready to load a roll in a hurry weaz.  Prayers of safety coming your way from Hawaii.

[WDE97]

Had my police scanner on yester early afternoon. Around 1:30 p.m. I hear  "Yeah, I think I'm gonna need another engine up here. The wind is pretty strong from the north, I don't think I can contain it myself."  About 3 hours later, I walk on the front lawn an see this!!

 Holly was literally standing in our front yard when she took this pic. As the crow flies, it's about a mile from the house. Turns out, a couple kids were playing with matches and toilet paper. I've been able to count three C-130's dropping fire retardent, and about six small planes dropping water. There is one giant helicopter with a tank and snorkle dropping water, and a smaller one with a bucket. Nurmerous trucks, etc... I can't imagine the cost involved. So far, about 1200 acres have burned, and they have it 25% contained. That I know of, one house has been lost.
  It's kind of a sick thing, but it has been very cool to watch. I mean, this is happening in my front yard, making drips right in front of my eyes! The planes are in a flight path right over my house! I have all the fire departments, the Beareau of Land Management, and the Pocatello airport all programmed in my scanner, so I can hear it all go down in real time.

Stay safe Weaz!! Who needs TV when you have kids with matches?

I had a similar experience up here in Lewiston a few years ago.  My GF and I sat on her deck watching a brush fire come over the ridge right toward her neighborhood.  We rounded up some friends with trucks and watched through the night ready to load up her and her roomate's stuff if the fire go too close. Fortunately, the fire dept got it under control and we didin't have to evacuate.

[tubercle]

Wrap up some malt in tin foil (poke a few holes in it first) and randomly scatter it about the yard just in case. No use letting a good arson go to waste.

[1vertical]

Same thing going on around here in BFEWhyomin....about a mile and a half to my south
yesterday....and someone's house went up in smoke it was on the news...yep FIRE!!
(this ain't no crowded theatre)

[1vertical]

Tonight I am screaming FIRE FIRE...changed the appearance of the sun
http://www.homebrewersassociation.org/forum/index.php?topic=8837.15