(I’m going through my old writings, and I came across this journal entry about the Encebado Fire on Taos Pueblo.)
Fire destroys that which feeds it. Simone Weil
It’s been very very very very very hot here. 90 is considered hot, but
it’s been 95. We’ve been eating fruit and popsicles for every meal, it
seems. Should I mention that we’re grumpy? No, I’ll just leave it at that.
On the Fourth of July, it was… hot, but a breeze picked up, the
temperature dropped to about 85, and rain threatened. It was raining in
the mountains, so we were hoping it would make it into the valley. I sat
on the back porch in the wind and watched lightning strike the
mountains. I thought, Yes, we’ll get some rain soon. My second thought
was, Fire.
About 30 minutes later I was inside and smelled smoke. I thought it was a
neighbor burning trash (very traditional here to burn trash outdoors in a
metal barrel – and very toxic, I might add…), but when I went outside, I
saw a huge plume of smoke coming from the mountains. Oh sh*t. A
wildfire. I thought we could get through one season without a fire.
The wind was very strong now and pushing this fire towards town at an
alarming rate. It had to be assessed before the Forest Service could order
fire crews, bulldozers and slurry bombers, though. This was also sacred
land on Taos Pueblo, so all decisions had to be approved through their
administration. While this process went on, we wondered what the immediate
future held. I wished I’d put gas in the car before coming home from the
holiday parade, and began to mentally pack up kids, dog, cat, food,
clothes, photographs and important papers. I hate that feeling, but we’ve
had so many fires in recent years, it almost felt normal.
The wind died down overnight into Saturday, temperatures dropped and the
humidity rose, slowing the fire advance into the valley. The wind on
Saturday afternoon (there is a perpetual breeze here) pushed the fire away
from town, thankfully, so no buildings or people were threatened. The
valley is now full of smoke, though, which is gagging me.
My mother, who is back in the hospital with very high blood pressure, is
worried that we are burning up in this fire. Her doctor (for some weird,
mysterious and stupid reason) took her off her anti-depressants, so she is
very irrational now. She watched CNN all day yesterday, and it’s adding to
her hysteria. I had to tell her we’re safe, but I actually was not
convinced we were. The fire seems to be under control, but the wind can
shift and change all that in a split second.
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There was a small sign by the road that I could not read, but on the way out, I stopped. It said ‘Certified Wildlife Habitat – National Wildlife Federation.’ Wow, I thought, I didn’t know you could get certification for feeding the birds! 
Here in northern New Mexico, we had a very cold spring. After a fairly dry but cold winter, we got hammered with snow in March and April. That didn’t stop the hummingbirds, though! This picture was taken at daybreak on April 23. 
There are big bare spots in my flower beds. Even the weeds don’t seem to be doing well! The cosmos, a Taos icon, have just started to flower, and they are only about 1′ tall. We are talking about a 6′ towering plant that is normally covered in blooms and bees in mid-July! Not this year!
