Fight Fire With Fire

A couple of weeks ago, I happened to be camping right near the start of the Cascade Fire which broke out near Red Lodge. I had gone camping with my daughters as well as my friend, Jeromy, and his wife and two kids. We camped across from Timberline the previous night and that morning drove up to the start of the Quinnebaugh Meadows trail. We ended up cutting our hike a little short because the kids were tired. When we got back to our vehicles, we decided to refill our water bottles from the river. While we were doing that I noticed this...









That was our cue to leave. Now. Racing down the road, the fire was within fifty yards of the road. Once we were clear, though, I had to stop and take a few more pictures.





It was an incredible experience. Jeromy said he heard we were one of the last to get out on our own. Everyone else hiking the trail had to be evacuated by helicopter. Isn't it amazing how quickly things like this can happen? I'm grateful that we all got out okay, but also excited to have been so close. It was beautiful even as it was terrifying.