Fires and Back to School

The new school year was suppose to begin this Monday but unfortunately it has been changed to the 4Th of September. The reason being that there is a fire going on in the Ketchum area. Ketchum is about 15 miles away from Hailey. This fire has been going on since the 19Th of August and it still keeps going. As of this morning 41% of the fire has been contained. The winds have calmed down so it has allowed the firefighters to make some progress. Hopefully they will contain it soon. Though many things keep happening. Some people that live in Ketchum have been on voluntary evacuation and some areas are on mandatory evacuation. The good thing is that so far no houses have been burned and no one has been hurt.



I still remember seeing the smoke from the mountains. Me, Charlie, and Sheela were going up to Warm Springs, a city next to Ketchum, to meet up with Charlie's coworker for a play date for Sheela. His coworker has an Aussie and there is a golf course that has been closed because a new hotel might get built there so she figured it would be a good place for the dogs to run around. We saw the smoke in the mountains but we weren't sure what it was. Then we saw a sign on the road warning of closed streets so Charlie called his coworker and asked her if things were OK. She said it was fine. There was a fire but her area wasn't closed and the fire was not close to her. So we went and the dogs played and then we went home. That smoke really got my allergies going the following day.

Things didn't seem that bad bud we could smell the smoke so we went online and there was information about the fire. It had started Saturday from lightning. There didn't seem much to worry about. But then there were warnings about areas to stay out of and to be careful with the air quality. In the mornings Hailey would get very smoky but then it would clear out. You could still smell the smoke and see the ash. You could also see the brown and gray smoke emitting from the mountains. There were reports coming out and shelters being formed in the Community Campus in Hailey. Many people still stayed in their homes because it wasn't mandatory to evacuate.

We were getting ready for the school year and being told to be aware of the students feelings and what was going on with the fires. So the week of the 20th went by and we were waiting to start classes on the 27th with the freshmen only and then with the rest of the student body. But on Sunday a report went out that schools were being closed for Monday and Tuesday. Most of us were not expecting this to happen. From the reports it seemed that the fires were being contained and things would continue as they were planned. But then the school district canceled classes for the entire week. So now we will be starting on the 4th of September.

I never thought I would be going through an experience like this. The teachers are still expected to go in tomorrow and Thursday but the students aren't coming back till next Tuesday. Things are fine in Hailey except for the smoke in the air but it looks bad in the mountains in Ketchum. I understand why it would be necessary to postpone classes. The reports seem to show that the fire is being contained yet some people are being evacuated for safety reasons. I really do hope the fire gets contained soon and no structures get damaged. The weather seems to be helping because it is not as windy but a little bit of rain would help. No lighting because that is what started this fir. I do hope we start school soon.