An early August wildlands fire on Chuckanut Mountain reminded CCA members of the importance of being vigilant and extra careful about fire safety. The Burnout Log Road fire began on the western slope of Chuckanut Mountain, some 4-6 miles south of the Chuckanut Crest area. As many as 130 firefighters worked on the blaze, assisted by 2 helicopters scooping water from Samish Lake and 2 bulldozers creating a perimeter around the fire. At this writing it appears the fire is coming under control. But in the case of future fires, homeowners are encouraged by the State Department of Natural Resources to do the following:

• Stay Informed. Check for the most updated information on the special Incident Information System website maintained by DRN and other agencies for updated information
• Check with Whatcom County Sheriff for any evacuation orders.
• Prepare a “go-bag” and keep it handy. Whether a fire, earthquake or other event, having a ready-to-go bag with your most critical valuables is always a good idea. 

CCA member David Gregory had “an unappreciated adventure” in late July. “Around 7:30 A.M. the acrid smell of smoke woke me up. It was unusually pungent. I threw on some clothes and went downstairs to check the kitchen, the garage and the storage area under the house. Nothing. Walked out to the edge of the gangplank jutting out from the deck. Wisps of dirty gray smoke drifted through the tops of the pine trees from somewhere down to the northeast of me. Very hard to discern where the fire actually originated. Called the fire department.” Since David’s home is actually in the city, it was the city fire department that responded initially, later supported by the South Whatcom Fire Authority and the State Department of Natural Resources. It took well more than an hour of pouring over maps of the area and on-the-ground exploration before the fire was actually located on a vacant CCA member lot near David’s house.

“It was the type of slow burning, under ground fire that (CCA Member) Jim Wood discovered two summers ago on top of the mountain.” 

“At first (the initial responding city fireman) thought that the fire might have been started by street people camping up here… On further investigation we found a large plastic folding table red Dixie cups scattered around the lot. The tall grass had been crushed under on the flat part of the lot by a car and a truck. Unless street people are now driving cars it had to be somebody who has access to our gate code. No car can get up the trail from California Street. And, I don’t see street people dragging a heavy folding plastic table up the mountain with them. It is obvious that somebody was having a party down there last night and before they left flicked a cigarette butt into the woods. There were no remains of a campfire. The fact that they left the table implies that they're coming back.”

The take-away from this story:

• We all need to be vigilant about what’s going on around us.
• We need to be careful about any barbeques or fire pits we use. (The county has issued a no-burn policy countywide for the remainder of the summer season.)
• Please don’t give out the gate codes inappropriately. (Click here for more information on Gate Codes.) 

Seen the New Lending Library? It’s located next to the upper bank of mailboxes. It’s the brainchild of CCA members Donna and John Inglis. As Donna explained,

“It really came about as I would find myself coming across libraries in other neighborhoods and later returning to swap a book or two. I would often meet the "host" and have a friendly chat...seems sharing book reviews is one of those easy ways to start conversation with a stranger. Eventually the light bulb went off and I thought, "We need one of these in our neighborhood". So, I set out to find one of a design that seemed congruent, invited a gaggle of our known bookworms over for a book-swap party and voila! The little library was seeded with about 200 books and it's been up and running since.”

Stop by soon, take a book and leave a book. And thank our neighbors Donna and John for this delightful addition to our neighborhood.