I envision a world where communities don't have to rush out of their home, a place in their life where they should feel safe. A world where wildfires are only beneficial to the ecosystem, without tearing lives apart and costing families everything. Unfortunately, this goal is unobtainable, but we can support wildfire firefighters as they take on extreme conditions to protect our communities against devastation. In July of 2021, a wildfire started by a lightning strike, broke out on the far side of the lake near my family's lake house (picture 1 and 2). A place that has had a very important meaning to me since I was just a baby. I value the ground and air wildfire crews that limited the extent of this fire and prevented it from crossing the lake. However, this is not the only time we have had the scare of wildfires in our community. The following year, in August 2022, my family was out on the boat, when we realized there was smoke coming from a mountain range near the community, and my father and I sprang into action and intervened. We took the boat back to the marina and hoped on our ATV's, shovels and axes ready to be used to prevent the spread. In my third picture, you can see a up close picture of the fire, luckily it had not really taken off and spread yet. My dad and I were the first people on scene, and soon followed other members of the community, ready to act. Therefore, through our intervention and notification to wildfire crews, we were able to contain the fire and prevent it from causing devastation to our community. I share my story to show that not all wildfires will cause devastation and through intervening and taking the risk to protect your community, we can not only limit the extent, but build stronger and closer relationships with our communities.
