Record Breaking Wind, Wildfire and Dangerous Air Quality

This week started out much like any other for our family. MY older two children just finished up their state homeschool testing. We planted many seeds for a Autumn and Winter harvest of both herbs and vegetables. The days were hot and dry which isn’t entirely uncommon. Sometimes it’s cooler sometimes hotter… Oregon weather can be unpredictable at times.

Winds were in the forecast but not just any as the winds we received were record breaking with gust up to 40-60mphs. The wind gust were not a good thing. People lost power from down trees and transformers going out. What also made the wind bad is that they made the fires burning in parts of the state extremely dangerous.

As of this post there are four fires burning in Clackamas County. These fires have devastated so much. Many of our friends, church members and family have been evacuated from their homes due to a level 3 evacuation notice. My family and I are in a level 2 evacuation zone. Sadly we know those that have lost their homes and won’t know about the full extent of damage till the visibility gets better.

Currently one the fires (Riverside Fire ) is about 12 miles from us. It hasn’t seemed to progress any further since we came back home yesterday night. We opted to come back home as it seems like things are more in favor of the fire not traveling further this way ( higher humidity and predicted rain on the way!). The air quality is awfully bad right now but keeping the windows shut and running filters and diffusers in our home is helping.

We weren’t sure how fast things were going to escalate so on Thursday when our zone changed from a level one green to a level two yellow we packed the car and headed south to my husband’s families home. We stayed for a day carefully monitoring and praying over the choice to head back.

Though we are still in a level 2 for our area we felt it best to be home to get anything else we might need if things do shift to a level 3. The kids have slept better since being home and wont have to wonder if their home is still here. We were glad our FISH were okay while we were gone! The whole fire team is set up very near to where we are so if something does happen it helps bring a bit more peace. We still have half the car packed and ready if we are called to do so.

We are praying for those affected directly, the first responders and everyone else helping and working to keep our communities safe. There’s been a lot going on with not just fires but with looting and others starting fires intentionally around town. I pray for God’s protection, peace and strength right now. Let us have faith, joy and hope. He has us and this in his hands.