Forest of the Plains

This afternoon we got a phone call from our realtor. She had just heard from a coworker who is also a volunteer EMT that serves the area around our new farm. The message: Our barns are burnt to the ground, and they're not sure about the house. (Aside from the horrible news, I do think it's funny that the EMT called our realtor to get ahold of us!)

We got to the farm as fast as we could. About 15 vehicles, all owned by volunteer first responders, were parked in the field. Two relatives were already there, watching the fire. Two barns and one chicken house were completely burned, except for their tin roofs. The grass all around the house had burned, but the house and the granary (where we're storing a lot of sentimental things) weren't touched.

News spreads fast in a small town, so family and neighbors stopped in to see if they could help. Our contractor for the house construction even put on some gloves to help pull the pieces of tin roof out of the flames. Another EMT made a point of telling me how hot it was and very closely monitored my fluid intake. And, of course, about half of the fire fighters are either relatives or attend our church.

The fire chief has several theories about how the fire started, and will definitely rule the fire as accidental.

We're very grateful to the volunteer fire fighters who spent hours in the 100F heat with the hot sun beating down on them.

We're also grateful to whoever called in the fire. None of the first responders recognized their name.

John has taken some pictures. Check out his site for updates.