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On Saturday, May 30th, a large brush fire broke out in Cave Creek, Arizona, the town of about 6,000 people where I live. It’s wildfire season here. The town of New River, our neighbor to the west, had the East Desert Fire which claimed 1,492 acres only 2 weeks ago.
Around 1:30pm on Saturday, right after watching the historic NASA and SpaceX launch, I’m heading south on Cave Creek Rd with my husband and step-daughters. In the rearview, we see huge smoke plumes in the air. My husband, Dane, drives as I search online for reports of the fire. News reports say a fire has started off of Ocotillo Rd, north of the popular Rancho Mañana Golf Course.
By the time we drop off the kids and start heading back to Cave Creek, we can see dark smoke from miles away. Posts and photos about the fire are being made on a popular local Facebook group. From there, I find Arizona Foothills 911, a Facebook group “for Neighbors helping Neighbors in emergency situations.” The group is organizing volunteers to help evacuate people and animals.
Now dubbed the Ocotillo Fire, 350 acres have burned by the time Dane and I get to the volunteer headquarters.
Evacuation orders cover 90,000 acres. This includes at least 60 homes, most of them ranches with outbuildings (barns, stables, garages). Most of them are home…
