One dark night when we were all in bed, Old Lady lit the lantern in the shed, and when the cow kicked it over she blinked her eyes and said, “It’s gonna be a hot time in the old town tonight.”
A hot time would certainly be an understatement about the incendiary beasts that were started by lightning more than three weeks ago. The rollicking song about an old barn catching fire is an old favorite of my generation. No longer, I bet. I can’t recall the rest of it. My more than 60-year old memory of this well-known campfire song can’t bring it to mind it from those days gone by.
No joke, anyone who has experienced the fear and terror of a wildfire will take fire seriously.
I continue to hear of the outstanding job done by the hard-working firefighters, their support staff, as well as Meeker and Rangely’s town and the county government workers.In addition, Governor Polis declared a state of emergency and called out the National Guard.
Local and county residents pitched in to help immediately. Their incredible hard work and their willingness to ignore past differences created a bond that I hope will continue to get stronger from now on. It is in such difficult times that the primary goal of controlling and containing the wildfires can be met. Banding together facing the immediate threats insures meeting that goal.
It doesn’t matter who owns the property, the livestock, or the structures that have been decimated.
Saving the lives of people always comes first, and so far, no lives have been lost. Fear and anger did not take over in most of the residents and if any official got a complaint about loss of power, or any other issues that arose, dealing with those complaints were taken with a calm, but firm, demeanor.
Consider how most of us use the word “local.” We all usually use it to refer to our town and neighboring countrysides. Everyone’s group efforts countywide and countryside were remarkable, let’s hope they will continue.
The large thank-you signs in both communities, as well as the great number of online messages and the letters to the editor throughout this time demonstrated their gratitude. The non-random acts of kindness are the best! Keep them coming!
By DOLLY VISCARDI