![\"Wildfire\"](\"https:\/\/bone-in-the-throat.com\/Blog\/wp-content\/uploads\/2022\/09\/Wildfire.jpg\" "\\"Wildfire.jpg\\"")
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Awake at 3:00AM<\/p>\n
At first I\u2019m not sure what woke me up.\u00a0As I lay there my awareness expands.<\/p>\n
The house is silent, as is the neighborhood. The sound of crickets is normal, and the oppressive heat of the day has abated.<\/p>\n
There\u2019s a coolish breeze blowing through the open windows. The dog is sleeping, I can tell by his snoring he\u2019s probably laying on his back under the breeze from the ceiling fan.<\/p>\n
Completing the evaluation of my immediate surroundings I notice there\u2019s the scent of smoke in the air.<\/p>\n
From experience, I know it\u2019s the smell of a brush fire. The smell isn\u2019t strong, nor is it the same smell that is present when the fire is close.<\/p>\n
Somehow this smells \u201ccooler<\/em>\u201d like it\u2019s traveled a distance.<\/p>\n It is strong enough that it woke me. There hadn\u2019t been any smoky smell when I went to bed.<\/p>\n Instinct is interesting. We think of sleep as \u201cTurning Off<\/em>\u201d but that\u2019s not really true. It\u2019s just a different state of awareness. Somewhere in the deep primitive part of our brain there\u2019s something monitoring our surroundings. An odd sound, light, or smell triggers a primal response.<\/p>\n That response in my case is accompanied by a hit of adrenaline that says, \u201cGet your ass moving!”<\/p>\n The smell is strong. Apparently, it was enough to trigger my alert system. I can see the sky, and the stars clearly. I know there\u2019s no smoke in the air, or rather not enough to obscure the sky. I roll over and try to go back to sleep.<\/p>\n I can\u2019t.<\/p>\n The evacuation inventory list is playing in my head. What to take, what to leave, exit routes, and all the rest.<\/p>\n Eventually I can\u2019t not think about fire.<\/p>\n I get up, wake the computer up, and start checking the Cal-Fire incident site.<\/p>\n The nearest reported fires are miles away, they\u2019re 98% contained. The next nearest fire is in Hemet, 50 miles away so that\u2019s not a threat to me. Although I note that two people \u00a0lost their lives. That\u2019s bad. I don\u2019t know the circumstances they were in but it reenforces my belief that if there\u2019s a wildfire I\u2019ll run, I\u2019ll grab the dog, and what papers or sentimental items I can, and the rest can burn.<\/p>\n Anything can be replaced except your life and the lives of your loved ones.<\/p>\n For me though, tonite the damage is done. I pour myself a drink and write this blog. It\u2019s going to take a while for the adrenaline to leave my system.\u00a0<\/p>\n Until then I\u2019m not getting any sleep.<\/p>\n I hope your night was more restful.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" Awake at 3:00AM At first I\u2019m not sure what woke me up.\u00a0As I lay there my awareness expands. The house is silent, as is the neighborhood. The sound of crickets is normal, and the oppressive heat of the day has abated. There\u2019s a coolish breeze blowing through the open windows. The dog is sleeping, I … <\/p>\n