Thunder and lightning

When I was a kid, I used to climb on top of our barn to watch the fireworks whenever a thunderstorm came over. In some parts of the country, that would have been the height of foolishness.

On our Papoose Ranch, however, there was little danger. The barn was small, as barns go, cupped in a canyon surrounded by tall mountains and trees. It was a wonderful place to watch Nature’s fireworks and I enjoyed the show.

The fun went out of it when George and I were married. He was a fire guard for the U.S. Forest Service so thunderstorms meant that I might not see him for days or even weeks when he was on a fire. I would be isolated by myself. My only human contact occurred when I called in the weather report that day. Even after George quit the Forest Service, they came and got him when they needed extra firefighters.

I no longer dread thunderstorms as I once did, and I even enjoy watching the show. The one on June 21 was probably the most spectacular I’ve ever seen. Thunder rolled back and forth over the top of us here. Lightning strikes came close. Three flashes were so close together that the bolt and flash seemed simultaneous with the thunder’s crash.

Considering that sound travels about a thousand feet per second, that means those strikes were very close, startling us as well as the dogs.

We hoped for rain, but only got a spattering, so we knew there had to be many fires set considering the extended drought we’ve had these past months.

I turned on the television and watched the text crawling across the bottom of the picture to keep track of the many fires, where they were, and how they were burning.

I am familiar with so many of the places in Trinity and Shasta counties that were mentioned. If I haven’t lived there, I have at least been there and I know people there. I’m not as familiar with Butte County, but my daughter has a home there so I was compelled to follow the progress of the fires that surrounded her as well.

My family was burned out of our home on two occasions. Each time, I was so traumatized, but never as much as after that first fire when I was age 6. Ever since, I have had a thing about fire. I commiserate with the folks who have lost everything to the wild fires caused by the recent thunderstorms. I wish we could share some of the Midwest’s excess rain. “Tain’t fair, McGee.”