I am surrouded by idiots! (Longish, but I hope it's worth it.)

[LucyInDisguise]

Week One: "C'mon Judy, it's wildfire season again. Burn Barrels were banned weeks ago. Will you stop already?"

Week Two:"C'mon Judy, We had this conversation last week. It really is stupid to keep burning your trash. Elko Sanitation will pick up your trash for a mere $22 a month. Shit, your ol' man will make more than that in one hour on Monday morning.

"Have you noticed that it's wildfire season again? Burn Barrels were banned weeks ago. Will you stop already? Shit. Do you realize that you are endangering this whole freakin' subdivision with that thing? What if it gets away from you? Have you thought about that?

[Unquoteable Idiotic Response. Even here in the pit. I would not subject this community to that level of dumb.]

"I see. No, I don't think that that 'not-quite-full' gallon pail of water will do much good ..."

Three Days Later:"C'mon Judy, Okay. Look, I'm through trying to reason with you. Burn Barrels were banned weeks ago. I called the County Sheriff's office and they've got a Deputy on the way over to talk to you. Will you stop? Now!"

Week Four:"C'mon Judy! I told you - shit - The nice Sheriff's Deputy told you last week - that it is wildfire season again. Burn Barrels are banned. They were banned weeks ago.

"Some of your neighbors are looking for a good rope to lynch you with. I think you should know that I plan on being at the head of the mob.

"What part of 'burn barrels are banned' don't you understand???"

Three Days Later: Apparently all of it.

Okay. Well, I tried.

From the article:

Judy Mayle was taken into custody after she allegedly allowed a burn barrel she was using to overturn ...

Actually, according to the Fireline Supervisor, the barrel didn't 'overturn' in any classical sense. There were 6 aerosol cans in the barrel. (You know, the ones with the warning on the lable: Do not expose to heat or flame; Do not incinerate; etc.) When one of them exploded it blew the side of the old rusted out barrel open which, in accordance with the laws of physics, caused the barrel to overturn. Oh yeah ... and the pail of water didn't help.

Again from the article:

According to Sheriff Dale Lotspeich, Mayle threw a bucket of water on the fire and then walked away. "When she came back it was out of control," he said.

The Fireline Supervisor stopped by my house after the fire. He wanted permission to GPS our above-ground swimming pool as a source of water and get my permission to use it if necessary. (Signed and sealed. Gladly.) We had a good hour-long chat. Much dry (pardon the pun) humor regarding the intelligence level of people in this county. He told me that were it not for the fortuitous event of two engine companies from Salt Lake City seeing the smoke and stopping to investigate (they were passing by on I-80 on their way to fight wildfires in California), I would not be typing this right now. (They are now officially my heroes!)

It is now quite early on a (hopefully) quiet Saturday morning. I was up most of the night reflecting on what happened yesterday. You see, my home is a mere 930 feet from where this fire started. My BIL's place is right next door to Judy's. He called me last night and asked if I could come over this morning and help him replace 6 fence posts that burned. (After inspecting them, I have concluded that they were not burned badly enough to justify replacing them ...)

Shit. This could have gotten real ugly, real fast! Less than 30 minutes after they got the blaze knocked down the afternoon winds kicked up. 20 mph sustained gusting to 35 mph. We could have (make that: probably would have) lost the whole eastern half of the subdivision. And with the way the wind was blowing, perhaps all of the subdivision to the east of us. [::sudders::]
[::thinks-about-it-for-a-minute-and-sudders-again::]

Let's review:
Climate: High Desert.
Terrain: Low rolling hills.
Vegetation: Sagebrush, cheat grass, wild grasses and weeds. Dry. Verrryyy Dry. And lots of it.
Temperatures: Running in the low 100's.
Winds: Variable. Usually fairly calm in the mornings, wild and gusty in the afternoons.
Nearest Fire Hydrant: Seven miles west of here. Yes, miles!)

Oh, Hell! Shit. Would you excuse me for a few minutes?

"Larry, did you read the paper this morning? Did you notice that Judy just got arrested for doing what you are doing?"

"It's not like it's the middle of http://www.elkodaily.com/articles/2007/07/08/ap-update/d8q866400.txt]winter[/url] ...

"And I'm certain that you've heard about the other wildfires burning all over http://www.elkodaily.com/articles/2007/07/08/news/breaking_news/breaking4.txt]Northern Nevada[/url].

"Larry! Would you please listen to me?!?! Have you heard? It's wildfire season again. Let me say it one more time. For the record. I. am. going. to. speak. verrrry. slowly. so. you. have. enough. time. to. soak. it. all. in:
Burn Barrels. (that's that thing you're standing next to ...)
were banned. (that means you can't burn anything in them like you're doing now ...)
weeks ago!!! (as in ... you know ... way back in May!) Remember? It was in the newspaper. It was on TV. It was on the radio. It's constantly being repeated everywhere.

"Will you stop already?!?!?!"

"Your burn barrel is just 125 feet and upwind from my house. Look, Larry, here's 25 bucks. Call Elko Sanitation and have them bring you a trash can. For just $22 a month they'll pick up your trash and you won't need to burn it. That $25 will cover the first month. Keep the other three bucks to cover your time and trouble for the call."

Sorry, that was more than a few minutes ... ended up with much to do yesterday. Have I mentioned yet that I feel like I'm surrounded by idiots? It is now 4:00 AM next morning (Sunday). Back to my commentary [where was I? Oh, yeah ...]

I don't know why the online version of this story doesn't have the other picture from the front page of yesterday's edition - the one showing Judy being taken into custody ... it is a lovely shot of our newly elected Sheriff (not just one of his deputies) doing the honors (I think he was trying to make a statement). I would love to download that one to print up and nail it to each of my neighbors' front doors!

What is wrong with these people? What part of 'burn barrels are banned' don't they understand???

Shit. Here we go again! Would you excuse me for a few minutes?

"Ben! What the fuck do you think you're doing? Did you read the paper yesterday? Did you notice that Judy just got arrested for doing what you are doing. Yes, I know it's 5:00 AM. No, that doesn't lessen the danger! Holy fucking bat shit - Ben!!!! You haven't even cleared the weeds away from this thing!!!

"Yes, I see the 1 lb. fire extinguisher. No, I don't think it will help ..."

Sorry. I'm back. Gotta feelin' that I oughta just end this. there is smoke on the horizon, and I find that, in fact..

... ACTUALLY ...

... I AM ...

... SURROUNDED ...

... by IDIOTS!

Sorry, didn't mean to scream. It's just that, you know, getting my neighbors to stop burning trash is like herding cats made of Jell-O!

Gotta run. Need to go vacuum the pool. Want every thing to be neat and tidy when the firemen show up. It's kinda like the "always wear clean underwear" phobia thingy.

[Bosda Di'Chi of Tricor]

Tennesse is suffering from the worst drought in memory.
And everybody is shooting off skyrockets.
They'll keep doing it til October, usual at 3AM, always whilst snockered.

[Johnny L.A.]

Originally Posted by LucyInDisguise

[Unquoteable Idiotic Response. Even here in the pit. I would not subject this community to that level of dumb.]

Oh, please?

[Muffin]

Wow, you really are surrounded by idiots! Move, before it is too late.

[Baffle]

From now on call the police immediately.

[Sailboat]

At what point are you allowed to act in self-defense?

Sailboat

[Muffin]

I suppose the authorities would not go for using the idiot's properties for prescribed burns?

[shamrock227]

Originally Posted by LucyInDisguise

[Unquoteable Idiotic Response. Even here in the pit. I would not subject this community to that level of dumb.]

Nothing is too idiotic for The Pit. Please, please, please? Just whisper it to me if you are too embarrassed to tell everyone.

You'd better move before you don't have anything left to move away from.

[SmartAleq]

Holy shit! You are, indeed, completely surrounded by idiots! I thought my fireworks jonesin' neighbors who burn their chemical detritus from the meth lab were bad, but that does indeed take the cake.

Might I suggest investing in a nice sturdy cart with proper inflatable tires? Upon the top of this might I suggest mounting a plastic 55 gallon water barrel? With a nice pump attached, probably a hand pump I guess (maybe an electric pump with a car battery?), 25 feet or so of hose and a good nozzle. Next time an idiot starts a burn barrel, deploy your handy water cart, walk over to the burning stuff, put it out, making sure to douse thoroughly so it will be really hard to start another fire in the barrel for a while, then finish by squirting the neighbor in the face with another blast of water. For best effect, I'd suggest the following verbiage to accompany the dousing, "Bad! Burn bad! NO! NO! BAD NEIGHBOR, NO BURN! BAD!"

Then walk back home and refill your barrel. I bet the local Sheriff's department and maybe the fire department as well would be willing to pitch in for the equipment and to subsidize a portion of your water bill.

Put a sign on the cart that says "Stupidity Amelioration Project."

Good luck!

[mks57]

Originally Posted by Sailboat

At what point are you allowed to act in self-defense?

Sailboat

I've read that you can use deadly force to stop an arsonist who is attempting to set a fire in an occupied building. Insert usual disclaimers. I'd suspect that you could justify some level of force to stop someone who is doing something that is likely to result in death or injury to other people.

[Savannah]

I have no words to express my astonishment. Every time I think there is hope for humanity, the sheer stupidity, carelessness, and lack of insight exhibited by our brethren and sistren snuff it out. You are, indeed, surrounded by idiots.

[seenidog]

As a survivor of a home fire, I understand the anxiety this causes you. I had a home fire, there was a place to run to get away. I cannot imagine the horror of seeing the entire horizon afire with no place to go. It has been eight years since our fire, (nobody hurt, but everything, and I mean everything but what we were sleeping in and ran out of the house wearing became a smoking hole in the ground). To this day I wake up and think I smell smoke, and cannot go back to sleep until I have walked through the entire house, including inspecting every closet and corner. Drives my wife crazy. Obviously you have a clear understanding of how carefully fire must be controlled. It is not to be messed with. I must wonder if Sailboat isn't on to something, perhaps self defense should be considered a reasonable reaction, but the courts are not likley to agree. Perhaps the suggestion of Baffle is right on, report each and every offense. Of course this will lead to a neighbor war, so consider the advice of Muffin to move on. In the meantime I suggest you stick to soda and bottled water. For there to be so many spectacularly stupid people in such close proximity, I suspect the water supply. The city is not pumping water, it is pumping liquid stupid.

BTW: My fire was caused by bad wiring, which amounts to stupidity. I knew the wiring was substandard and not to code. There was always something more important to spend money on. I learned different, the hard way.

[LucyInDisguise]

Originally Posted by Johnny L.A.

Oh, please?

No.

Well, okay. Since you asked so nicely.

Warning: This program is intended for mature audiences. Armed Intervention Viewer disgression is advised.

I'm taking all the precautions necessary.

Said JudyTheVilliageIdiot. With a straight face - no less.

Originally Posted by Muffin

Wow, you really are surrounded by idiots! Move, before it is too late.

It's already later that you think. I own this place free and clear. Will not do the mortgage thingy again. Would prefer open season and a 50 cal. machine gun.

Originally Posted by Baffle

From now on call the police immediately.

Non-emergency response time up to six hours. By the time they get here it'll all be over. Hell, for that matter, emergency response time may be up to 20 minutes! Don't really want to wait till the flames are on the loose.

Seriously.

If those fire trucks from SLC had not been where they were, when they were [or, had they assumed that it was already being fought, or was an "approved controlled burn" and just kept on going their merry way, or had they not been carrying water, or, or, or ...], all would have been lost.

NDOW wildfire crews did not arrive on-scene until 19 minutes after the first 911 call. (That was 11 minutes after the Salt Lake Crews started fire suppression.)

County fire crews were 7 minutes behind them.

Their water tanker showed up 3 minutes after that. Half full.

That sounds bad. I don't want this to sound at all like I live in an old 'Keystone Cop' movie set. They respond initially with a half full tanker on purpose. The exit from I-80 for our subdivision is seven miles from the nearest full time non-volunteer fire crew's station, and just over a mile from my home (eight miles total). Judy's place is three 300 foot lots and one 30 foot wide street to the north. From the freeway, all roads are unimproved, non-graveled dirt roads. It takes me 10 minutes to drive that last mile in my big truck. The firecrews take about 3 minutes to cover that ground - it's very rough - hence the half full tanker on initial response. It can get here quicker (water is heavy!) and there is less risk of damaging the truck (a fire truck with a broken axle is of no use to anyone!). Addional (Full) tankers then have a few more minutes to respond if they're needed.

We have a voluteer crew in Ryndon, 4 miles east of us, but they didn't get here this time till it was pretty much over. Hell, the Salt Lake Crew pretty much had it controled by the time anyone else got here. I'm in the process of hunting down who ever trained and supervises these guys and gals from Salt Lake. These crews deserve special recognition and I'm gonna make certain that they get it!

My wife and I chose this remote location, knowing the risks (at least the obvious ones ... it took two years to figure out that a fair percentage of the neighbor are nuts ...), and we accept those risks. We keep a 50' clear-cut firebreak around our home and the horses. We have an above-ground swimming pool that can provide 3500 gallons of water with which to help fight or at least keep a fire at bay till the tankers show up.

Unfortunately, the list of things we have also includes some neighbors that you must square off and hit right between the eyes with a 2X4 just to get their attention.

Even that doesn't always work.

Lucy

On preview:

shamrock227, gotcha covered above.

[LucyInDisguise]

Originally Posted by SmartAleq

<snip>Might I suggest investing in a nice sturdy cart with proper inflatable tires? Upon the top of this might I suggest mounting a plastic 55 gallon water barrel? With a nice pump attached, probably a hand pump I guess (maybe an electric pump with a car battery?), 25 feet or so of hose and a good nozzle. Next time an idiot starts a burn barrel, deploy your handy water cart, walk over to the burning stuff, put it out, making sure to douse thoroughly so it will be really hard to start another fire in the barrel for a while, then finish by squirting the neighbor in the face with another blast of water. For best effect, I'd suggest the following verbiage to accompany the dousing, "Bad! Burn bad! NO! NO! BAD NEIGHBOR, NO BURN! BAD!"

Then walk back home and refill your barrel. I bet the local Sheriff's department and maybe the fire department as well would be willing to pitch in for the equipment and to subsidize a portion of your water bill.<snip>

Discussed something very similar to your suggestion with the Sheriff friday ATF (after the fire )

He got a good laugh. Said he couldn't see anything particularly wrong with it. "Just be sure to wear a vest. Oh, and keep your very good legal team's retainer paid up." Said he.

Don't have vest. Can't afford lousy legal team, let alone a very good one.

Have mouth.

Will holler.

Originally Posted by SmartAleq

Put a sign on the cart that says "Stupidity Amelioration Project."

Good luck!

Lucy

[LucyInDisguise]

seenidog, I think I got most of your post covered above. But I just could not resist responding to this:

Originally Posted by seenidog

<snip>In the meantime I suggest you stick to soda and bottled water. For there to be so many spectacularly stupid people in such close proximity, I suspect the water supply. The city is not pumping water, it is pumping liquid stupid.<snip>

City doesn't provide water. Everyone in on their own well.

This is, quite literally, Ground Level Liquid Stupid*

Can't find a bigger 'big grin' smiley so this one'll have to do ...

Lucy

*I gotta go. I need to find out how to Trademark, Bottle, Label and Sell my well water! Oh, and, ahhhh, you owe me a new monitor ... jus' onna counta'cuz!

[SnakesCatLady]

You need to get pictures of these morons setting fires. If they ask why you are taking pictures tell them it is so Emergency Services will know who to send the bill to.

[Cat Whisperer]

I thought it was bad that people walking by my tindergrass lawn late in the season (when watering has been banned) flicked their smoldering cigarette butts on it. Your idiots are much, much worse, Lucy. Have you considered installing a moat?

[OtakuLoki]

I like SnakesCatsLady's idea. Document.

And, yeah, I wanna see what Ground Level Liquid Stupid looks like. I've got this image that it's the same shade of flourescent green that radioactive crap always is in the movies...


ETA: Yanno, this whole situation adds a new level to the phrase I've used before: "The Sssstupid! It burnssss usss!"

[DrDeth]

Originally Posted by LucyInDisguise

Week One: "C'mon Judy, it's wildfire season again. Burn Barrels were banned weeks ago. Will you stop already?"
.

Ok, your problem really is that "burn barrels" are allowed at all, at any time, any place. Get your County to forbid the burning of trash year around. Bad for the environment, the air and the fire danger. If you ban them year around, and make the fine large enough your won't have this problem.

Oh, and you can buy some old wear on the back or carry in the off hand water pump fire extinguishers.

Make sure your roof is not made of kindling wood- aka "shake". Clear the brush from around your home.

[OtakuLoki]

Originally Posted by DrDeth

Ok, your problem really is that "burn barrels" are allowed at all, at any time, any place. Get your County to forbid the burning of trash year around. Bad for the environment, the air and the fire danger. If you ban them year around, and make the fine large enough your won't have this problem.

Given that in Lucy's subdivision there are at least four idiots who can't be assed to pay for trash removal, what makes you think that such a measure could get passed in the county?

Oh, and you can buy some old wear on the back or carry in the off hand water pump fire extinguishers.

Not really what I'd recommend. I'd imagine the most you could carry that way would be 5-7 gallons of water. Remember a gallon of water, as Lucy mentioned, is heavy - 8 lbs. Refilling it is cheaper than refilling some of the more effective exhaustion agent extinguishers, but I think that Lucy would want to be assured of having enough agent to be sure of putting out the fire. And I really don't think a backpack unit for general civil use would do that.

[silenus]

Get a couple of those big rolling foam extinguishers. Photo document every burn barrel, then put it out. Spray the burner as well. Then sue the ass off anybody who gives you the slightest lip. A good shyster should be able to bankrupt every one of these idiots working on commission.

[LucyInDisguise]

Originally Posted by SnakesCatLady

You need to get pictures of these morons setting fires. If they ask why you are taking pictures tell them it is so Emergency Services will know who to send the bill to.

Have pictures. So far no one seems to care much, though. Two years ago a resident of another part of the county started a 22,000 acre fire with their burn barrel. It burned to within 1 mile of our subdivision. The way the wind was blowing that day you can still, two years later, see from the burn pattern exactly where the barrel was sitting. No charges filed.

"No forensic evidence to prove who actually lit the fire."

There aren't enough for that kind of shit.

I think the property owner should have been cited, regardless of who started it. But, then, that would mean that someone other than the taxpayers might be responsible for the cost of fighting the fire ...

Fact is, to the best of my knowledge, Judy is the first person actually arrested, placed in custody, and hauled off to face the judge for this offense in the last 6 years.

Come to think about it, that may be because there's a new Sheriff in town. I voted for him 'cause this is just the type of shit "the other guy" tended to look the other way on ... For the record, we replaced the County Attorney and the Judge, too.

Now that I've thought that through, perhaps that is the reason our new Sheriff responded to what was (or any other time of the year would've been) an otherwise unremarkable incident. I think I'm going to call Dale (the Sheriff) and let him have all of my little neighborly pictures. Hmmmm. --- Please Standby --- Oooooooo, yeah! He's on the way over to pick them up as I type this! For once, and only once, I feel as though my vote counted for something.

Maybe, just maybe, everyone will sit up and take notice now. Especially if Judy ends up having to pay the fire suppression costs. (Maybe Judy's lot in life is to serve as a bad example to everyone else. Ya think?)

featherlou, Consider the moat in place. It may look like an inexpensive above-ground swimming pool, but a well placed razorknife in just the right place at just the right moment will buy us a lot of time ... Mama 'n' I have been practicing.

And I just finished vacuuming the thing, too! (You thought I was jus' kiddin', didn'cha?)

Damn thing's like a second full time job!

On Preview:

DrDeth, actually a year round ban would be cutting my own throat. I, and most of my responsible neighbors, use burn barrels and open burning (with the appropriate permits and safety measures) to clear our property of the fuels that get these fires going.

OtakuLoki: Review the 1950's scifi classic, "The Blob". Same general idea, except Ground Level Liquid Stupid does not have that much intelligence.

Lucy

[LucyInDisguise]

Update:

Okay, I remembering a christmas morning some 20 years ago. Mama and I had spent 2 months doing everything we could to trying to explain to our eldest daughter that there was just no way we could afford the present she wanted. She was inconsolable.

A bonus from work 2 days before christmas allowed me, after much searching to find it, to purchase the desired gift.

The look on my daughters face that morning when she discovered that Santa had brought her the gift that was her hearts greatest desire is a look I will never forget.

Dale, our new County Sheriff, had much the same look on his face just a few minutes ago when I handed over 14 photographs together with documentation of dates, times, names and circumstances.

I must, therefore, now limit certain my participation in certain aspects of this thread as I am now a 'material witness in an on-going investigation'.

I must also go out now and gather the troops (my more responsible neighbors) and rally support for what I am certain is about to become known as "The Greatest Property Rights Battle in the History of Elko County".

It's okay. I love a good fight. Besides, some of my neighbors have video.

Lucy

[St. Urho]

Lucy- where are you in relation to Elko? I was out there on some fires in 2001. I can also attest that the sage & grass there burns like CRAZY (I was out there when the Sheep Fire went from new start to about 20,000 acres in a day)! Oh, and I'm guessing your neighbors are the same people that always flipped off the Forest Service trucks when we were there.

St. Urho
former USFS firefighter

[swampbear]

LucyInDisguise good for you! Keep up the good fight. Sounds like the sane neighbors and you have had enough. Good for the sheriff too!

[Chimera]

Just a friendly reminder that a small fire extinguisher serves a dual purpose as both a means to extinguish the burning barrel, and a handy ASD (Anti-Stupid Device) with a liberal application of blunt force trauma to the offender's head and face.

With a Sheriff like that, it seems assured that there will be no forensic proof that you personally bludgeoned them into unconsciousness.

[wring]

Might I suggest that you ask for this to be closed? Seeing that you're probably very easily identifiable by anyone in that area, and there would be some people who'd be, say, rather pissed off at you personally? not to mention the potential for problems for the prosecution of said folks if your answers in this thread were found? Seriously, ixnay on the uggestions-say about iolence- vay. ya know? Especially ironic when y'all are talking about how stoopid other folks are being.

[Enginerd]

Good luck from the western part of the state. I was working with a rancher several years ago who was mowing and burning a field of noxious weeds (tall whitetop). After neighbors called in about the smoke, a local fire crew came out and offered some tips on how to make everything safer... and some clarification on the burn permit he'd obtained. The main point was to burn one pile at a time, and make sure that pile's completely out before you go on to the next one.

Fifteen minutes after they left, the rancher decided that that would be too slow. Thirty minutes after they left, the crew was on their way back, and they spent the next five hours or so there. I never worked with Bill again.

[seenidog]

Kudos to you for your great explaination of why a half full tanker showed up. I know what seems like pure nonsense becomes viable once you understand why. When my house was burning, the fire fighters had two rather large hoses spraying a tree at the back of my lot ( a thirty foot tall pine), spraying away from the burning house, not at it. I got in the fire chief's face (In my underwear no less) and screamed why the hell don't you put out the fire and quit watering the shrubery! He put me in my place rather quickly. Not exact quote, but close enough, "Your house is gone. No saving it. If that tree goes it is going to take the house next to it as well. It is not about saving your house, it is about saving the block. Please get out of my way. The people from the red cross van across the street will give you a blanket." I was so centered on myself I did not see the big picture. Same with some of those around you. I hope your campaign to enlighten them works.

[Faruiza]

Oooh. That burns my ass. (Pun only sort of intended.)
I love that piece of NV. Every year my husband and I go there to just kind of hang out. We've talked about retiring there. (Close, Ely.) If someone burns it up due to something on the magnitude of the stupid we're reading in this very thread...I'll just...be...a massive conniption fit fits the bill. Next winter when we amble through, I think I'd like to stop by to say, "Hi!" to you and contribute to your stupidity amelioration fund.
Seriously.

[DrDeth]

Originally Posted by LucyInDisguise

DrDeth, actually a year round ban would be cutting my own throat. I, and most of my responsible neighbors, use burn barrels and open burning (with the appropriate permits and safety measures) to clear our property of the fuels that get these fires going.


Lucy

Dude- Mulch. So, you're part of the problem. Think about it.

[Enginerd]

Have you ever seen the high desert? Sagebrush, rabbitbrush, and cheatgrass don't make very good mulch... and unless Lucy's got some different landscaping than most people do around gere, there's not a lot of use for mulch. My house (typical suburban 3 bedroom home in Reno) has about 3 square feet of mulched area between the front door and the driveway - the rest is either grass or gravel.

Burning can be done responsibly or irresponsibly. If he's doing it right (and it sounds like he is), then he's not part of the problem.

[bdgr]

I cant hear the name Elko without thinking about the Hunter Thompson story
http://www.gonzo.org/elko.txt

[hotflungwok]

Build a big catapult.
Load it with large sponges.
Soak sponges in water.
Enjoy interesting conversations when you go ask for your sponges back.

[Ponder Stibbons]

Originally Posted by LucyInDisguise

... I am now a 'material witness in an on-going investigation'.

Lucy, that totally rocks. Keep up the good work!

[LucyInDisguise]

UPDATE:

Well now, that was interesting!

Following my last post yesterday I went and visited several of my neighbors. By 5:00 PM it was more like 20 or so of us calling on several more of our neighbors. This, surprisingly enough turned into an impromptu block party. Actually, it was more like a property owners meeting more than anything else ...

By 7:30 last night we were running 7 LP gas barbecues burning hamburgers and hot dogs like crazy. (It's nearly 100 degrees out here! WTF am I doing standing next to a BBQ flipping burgers???)

We have 181 resident owners in the subdivision, more than half (97 +/- by my less than perfect count) plus a bunch of the renters all joined us for the free food. (Funny how that works, huh?) Most of these people I have never met in the almost 6 years we've lived here.

A couple of phone calls with the offer of free food brought the Sheriff and 2 of his senior deputies to the board, together with the line supervisor that was at the fire Friday and 2 senior NDF firefighters.

Discussion revolved around not burning down the Northern half of the state, and in particular, our little corner of same.

NDF wowed us with an interesting demonstration: 1 spark from a burning cigarette flicked into some cheat grass resulted in a 20' X 20' burn area in less than 90 seconds. Yeah, it's dry alright.

Dale and his deputies circulated among the owners & renters and inconspicuously sought out several individuals. Seems that someone had given him some rather incriminating photographs [nudge, nudge, wink, wink] that showed some people engaged in some rather illegal activities.

Actually, everyone so immortalized on film knew exactly where the photos came from, but the Sheriff was discreet and utterly failed to confirm their suspicions. I, however, not being the shy type, not only confirmed their suspicions, but made a point of proving once and for all that I will do whatever is necessary to protect my property and my family. (Can I do run-on sentences well, or what?)

The party(?) / meeting lasted well into darkness. The Boys and Girls from NDF pointed to the western horizon. They wanted to make sure that everyone saw the orange glow and understood that the glow was from a fire burning on the western edge of Elko (about 12 miles away).

I'm pretty certain that the point was made. We don't want to lose our homes, NDF does not want to have to try to save them. Dale has better things to do than run around arresting people for silly, senseless shit.

All things being equal, I think Judy did us all a favor - though not in a manner that everyone would necessarily approve of. This week those of us who stuffed ourselves last night will be taking the word to the property owners and renters who were not at that little shindig last night. Our plan is to visit in groups of five or more to lessen the prospect of (shall we say ...) "unpleasant encounters".

St. Urho: We are 7 miles ENE of Elko proper. I wasn't here for the Sheep Fire, but the one started by a burn barrel two years ago started out just as spectacularly. I hate to see that glow on the horizon. [::shuddersagain::]

Curious? Why 'former'? Most of the firefighters I have met are pretty much addicted to the profession.

Chimera: The no forensic proof thing was the old Sheriff's gig. Perhaps that's why (after more than 22 years in the position) he failed (rather spectacularly) to get re-elected. The new guy is apparently not part of the 'good ol' boy' network and is right on top of this thing.

Wring: Not to worry. I 'came of age' during the 60's and 70's - very much the activist, I've been fighting to get our roads fixed and to get a green belt (fire break) around our subdivision and generally making a nuisance of myself since about a month after we purchased our property here.

I was (way too) visible before this thread got started. Even more so after last night. Some of my neighbors may be willing to accept the way things are but, by damn, come hell or high water I will get some of this shit taken care of even if I have to resort to running for a seat on the County Commission. [::shudders-at-the-thought::]

Enginerd: Thanks for the good word on my behalf. I'll pick up where you left off:

DrDeth, Open burning is not only safe when done properly during the late fall and early spring, it is also beneficial to our land. It is, quite literally the only way to convert the wild vegetation to organic material in the dirt.

Unlike other climates, the dirt here has almost no organic material. Natures way of converting vegetation to organic material is through decomposition. If the vegetation doesn't die naturally, then nature converts it through fire. Before man intervened, lighting sparked wildfires would burn all across this land. Now, we fight the fires to protect property and life, but the quality of our soil and it's ability to support domestic vegetation suffers greatly.

Unlike where you live, I can not just throw out some grass seed or plant a tree / shrub and get it to grow. I've lived on this property for years now and still struggle to get even the hardiest of plants to grow. My wife has had good luck with flowering cactus and some other desert flowers. Lawn, at least so far, is still an elusive dream.

I follow in the footsteps and under the tutor-age of my neighbors who have been here 25+ years. They had to do what I've been doing - I learn from them.

By burning in the early spring, adding manure, peat moss, and other organic compounds to the ash and roto-tilling the whole mess into the soil, I have slowly brought the top 2-3" of soil on some sections of my property up to where I think I can get grass to grow next year. Maybe. 'Course that's what I said last year, too. Robert (my mentor in this) thinks maybe another couple of years. (The 40 lbs. of grass seed I put down this year yielded not one blade of grass that survived past June 5th. I don't always listen to my mentor. )

bdgr:

Lucy

[silenus]

Lucy, sounds like your chorus of "Alice's Restaurant" fell on receptive ears. Good for all of you! If have the subdivision is on your team already, you've got it won. Hell, only 33% of the American colonists favored the Revolution, and look what happened!

Wrap a handkerchief around your head and start practicing that fife......

[Archergal]

w00t!! Congrats on getting the neighbors together and cranking down on the firebugs!

[hajario]

A good friend of mine moved to Elko last year. She met a gold miner on the internet (hell of a great guy, btw), fell in love and moved out there to be with him. Some of her stories about the morons out there are legendary. She got job doing 911 dispatch, maybe you know her voice .

[LucyInDisguise]

Originally Posted by hajario

A good friend of mine moved to Elko last year. She met a gold miner on the internet (hell of a great guy, btw), fell in love and moved out there to be with him. Some of her stories about the morons out there are legendary.

Wait a minute ... We're not all Mormons.

Oh.

Morons.

Maybe we are ...

She got job doing 911 dispatch, maybe you know her voice .

Likely, actually.

Lucy

[St. Urho]

Originally Posted by LucyInDisguise

St. Urho: We are 7 miles ENE of Elko proper. I wasn't here for the Sheep Fire, but the one started by a burn barrel two years ago started out just as spectacularly. I hate to see that glow on the horizon. [::shuddersagain::]

Curious? Why 'former'? Most of the firefighters I have met are pretty much addicted to the profession.

I'm a paramedic now. I still do some wildland stuff on the side, but not full time. I don't work for the Forest Service anymore, either.

[LucyInDisguise]

Originally Posted by St. Urho

I'm a paramedic now. I still do some wildland stuff on the side, but not full time. I don't work for the Forest Service anymore, either.

This explains much.

Thanks,

Lucy

[SpazCat]

I'm surprised they even allow people to burn their trash where you're at. Just flat-out ban it forever. That'll help things a bit.

[SpazCat]

Originally Posted by SpazCat

I'm surprised they even allow people to burn their trash where you're at. Just flat-out ban it forever. That'll help things a bit.

After reading Lucy's explanation of the poor soil...

That'll larn me to respond before I've read the whole thread.

[SmartAleq]

Lucy, that is awesome! Every once in a while I hear a story that reassures me that not all people are total retards and self serving bastards, and reading about your [Eddie Murphy] NEW SHERIFF IN TOWN [/EM] laying the discreet smackdown on your pyromaniac neighbors while the impromptu block party rages all around makes me feel all warm & cuddly inside. Perhaps there is yet hope for bringing education to the masses--education that isn't writ tiny on the end of a bullet, that is!

Great job!

[Liberal]

Wow, $22.00 per week for garbage pick-up? We pay about that much per quarter!

[OtakuLoki]

Originally Posted by Liberal

Wow, $22.00 per week for garbage pick-up? We pay about that much per quarter!

It's not quite that bad, Liberal:

Originally Posted by LucyinDisguise

Look, Larry, here's 25 bucks. Call Elko Sanitation and have them bring you a trash can. For just $22 a month they'll pick up your trash and you won't need to burn it.

(Bolding added)

I'd also suggest that it's quite likely that your own garbage pick-up costs are heavily subsidized by your locality, as one of the 'invisibile' perks you get from paying local property taxes. AIUI, my city has no charge to homeowners for trash pick up. That's not because the trash collectors don't need to be paid, but because the city pays for it out if their regular tax revenues.

[Jamaika a jamaikaiaké]

Originally Posted by LucyInDisguise

Before man intervened, lighting sparked wildfires would burn all across this land. Now, we fight the fires to protect property and life, but the quality of our soil and it's ability to support domestic vegetation suffers greatly.

I'm not sure about your particular corner of the US, but I do know that for many centuries, people purposefully lit large portions of this continent on fire, sometimes annually.

Anthropogenic fire

Some article by the author of the book 1491 a book I highly recommend