Fighting Fires

DC-10 dropping 13,000 gallons of slurry at a time.

A friend and blog follower lives near the Thompson Ridge fire that is devouring acreage in New Mexico. He tells me he has moved pictures, legal papers, and other valuables to his hangar in case the call comes to evacuate now.

Here is a pictures of a VLAT (Very Large Air Tanker) joining the dozers, tankers, helicopters, tenders, crew, and volunteers in fighting this monster fire.

This picture amazes me. What a testimony to the human spirit - the inventive spirit that developed this technology, the bold spirit that braves extreme dangers to fly these machines, the intrepid spirit of the souls who fight these fires to help their fellow man, and the caring spirit of humans worldwide who cry in sadness when they hear of total strangers perishing in fires and other disasters.

My mother (whom I have often called a saint) has always stopped to pray when she hears a siren. She offers up a prayer for whoever is in need at that moment. I love this philosophy. It is good to care. It is good to feel compassion. It is good to recognize our human connectedness. And, I guess, it is good to own an airplane hangar, just in case . . . .

xo, Cate