HotShots

Photo by Chuck Hoffman © Genesis+Art

Chelan, Washington  

Most of you remember the days when it was impossible to make a phone call from Holden. These days we have limited phone service for emergencies, and it is an amazing and comforting fact that Chuck can call me from the Village. It is also a fact that I have been hovering around the phone like I did when I was 14 years old, waiting for it to ring.

One of the things we talked about today—other than how relieved I was to hear his voice—was fire in the Village. It is a hard thing to see fire and the Village in the same picture. The fire in and around Holden right now has been purposely laid. This is the "fighting fire with fire" I mentioned yesterday. It exhausts (burns) the fuels in a protective ring around the Village, so when fire arrives, there is little left for it to burn and the fire loses its energy. This is the difficult, dangerous, and grueling work the hotshot crews of Silver City, NM and Entiat, WA have been doing. The back burn is nearly complete, and the Wolverine Fire continues its march up Railroad Creek drainage. With good luck and the right weather, it will burn around Holden instead of through it.

The coming days still remain critical. We extend our tremendous gratitude to these teams who lay their lives on the line for others. We pray for the well-being of the Village, for the safety of everyone there, and we ask God for strength in the waiting.

With good courage, Peg

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