(no subject)
Jun. 22nd, 2009 06:17 pmSo, I had an exciting evening on Friday. First, the power went out, which is annoying enough at the best of times, and worse when you are house sitting for friends and don’t know where the flashlights are. So I went outside to try and figure out if it was just the house or a general blackout, and it immediately became obvious why the power was out, because the power pole across the street was on fire.
A couple of clumps of grass around the base were lit up and the flames were starting to creep up the pole. Keep in mind that this is in New Mexico, far enough out on the edge of town that the neighborhood is technically part of the county, which means the climate is dry and there are large stretches of land with just enough plant life for grass fires to get going.
So I dashed inside to get my cell phone and called the fire department. The couple across the street (who could tell there was smoke, but hadn’t seen the fire since it was just past the edge of their property and on the other side of a wall) had a fire extinguisher and managed to put it out before it spread much. The firetruck showed up pretty quickly and made sure it was out, and the power guys turned up pretty quickly after that and got the power back on, too. So it turned out okay, but I think I’ll wait ‘till they get back to tell my friends about it. I don’t think that a “Don’t worry, your house didn’t burn down” email would be the most reassuring thing in the world.
I’m totally making sure I know where the fire extinguisher is the next time I house-sit, though.
A couple of clumps of grass around the base were lit up and the flames were starting to creep up the pole. Keep in mind that this is in New Mexico, far enough out on the edge of town that the neighborhood is technically part of the county, which means the climate is dry and there are large stretches of land with just enough plant life for grass fires to get going.
So I dashed inside to get my cell phone and called the fire department. The couple across the street (who could tell there was smoke, but hadn’t seen the fire since it was just past the edge of their property and on the other side of a wall) had a fire extinguisher and managed to put it out before it spread much. The firetruck showed up pretty quickly and made sure it was out, and the power guys turned up pretty quickly after that and got the power back on, too. So it turned out okay, but I think I’ll wait ‘till they get back to tell my friends about it. I don’t think that a “Don’t worry, your house didn’t burn down” email would be the most reassuring thing in the world.
I’m totally making sure I know where the fire extinguisher is the next time I house-sit, though.