My husband stayed out all Saturday night and didn't come in until 6 a.m. Sunday, but I wasn't mad because he was helping fight fires in Scurry County.
Around 3:30 p.m. Saturday, he and other TxDOT employees were sent to help with a fire at Western Texas College. He was on a maintainer cutting fire breaks. He said he saw a helicopter hover over a stock tank and take in water through a six-inch or so hose, then go and dump it on the fire. I would have liked that photo to put on here instead of this lame one with a little leftover haze.
Anyway, he said every emergency service you could imagine was out there helping fight the blaze. There was also a group of ladies who provided food and drinks for which he was very grateful. As soon as he wolfed down a sandwich and a couple of Gatorades, all vehicles that could move (some were low on fuel) were told to head to Rough Creek. He headed the maintainer down the Camp Springs road and turned back north at the Community Center. He finally came upon the fire about where the pavement turns to dirt road. I started seeing the smoke about 4 p.m. and he was headed out there right about or after dark. He said he knew that there were at least 25 maintainers out there cutting fire breaks, along with all kinds of emergency personnel, helicopters, airplanes and plenty of news crews. There was a vehicle equipped with a big GPS board that was directing air and ground fire fighting. His crew got lost for a bit, he knew which way they were going by the compass on his watch and the blinking red lights of the windmills off to the west, but he said they kept coming upon canyons and couldn't get out. Finally, a forestry agent found them and led them out. Can you imagine being stuck down in Rough Creek in the middle of the night on a maintainer?
He heard at the WTC scene that 3,000 acres had burned and had possibly been started by a transformer sparking. No word on the canyon fire. By Sunday morning there was just a haze of smoke off that way, but we could still hear helicopters and the droning of equipment from that direction.
Here are the Roby Star Record / Rotan Advance headlines for the past two weeks:
February 21, 2008:
- Rotan City Council Meeting Minutes
- Ladies Tea at Roby Methodist Church
- Lady Lions Area Champions (photo)
- Roby School Board Meeting Minutes
- Rotan School Board Meeting Minutes
- Obituaries for Lavinia Leora (Collins) "Granny" McWhirter, Kathleen "Kay" Patterson, W.J. "Jim" Hale, June Anderson, Laura Mae Williams and Inell (Edwards) Goforth
- Rotan Economic Development Meeting Minutes
- Wynelle Terry named president of Frank Cockrell Art Association
- Fisher County Roundup by Joy Walker
- Recipe Corner: Sausage Bread
- Katie Martin chosen Lions Club Sweetheart (photo)
- Extreme Burn Ban Issued for Fisher County
- Fisher County Historical Commission meeting minutes
- Fisher County School Sports Section (photos)
- Legal Notices
- Sheriff's Report
- Notice of Impoundment and Sale of Estray
- Hog Fest to be motorcycle rally this year
- Rotan High School Weekly Bulletin
- National FFA Week Section (photos)
- Glenda Wright benefit lunch Feb. 24
- Fire started from burning trash (photo)
- Commissioners Meeting Minutes, Steve Estes resigns as county agent
- Benefit lunch for summer youth program
- Early Voting begins Feb. 19
- High school writer wins award (photo)
- Obituary for Joe Turner Lewis
- National Consumer Protection Week, Mar. 2-8
- Free Redbud trees from Arbor Day Foundation
- Fisher County Roundup by Joy Walker
- Grand Champion Meat Goat (photo)
- Local students participate in FCA All-Star Football Classic
- Rotan City Council Meeting Minutes
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