Carroll County on fire?

Were in Carrollton this afternoon? Maybe 3ish? Did you notice something? If you didn't, you weren't really in Carrollton. The entire town was blanketed in smoke and it reached as far south as MY HOUSE even,...and I don't live in Carroll County even!

I had to work today, so I'm at the shop and happen to look out the front door during a quiet moment and noticed that the trees across the highway sure did look ethereal.

Wait,... ethereal?
So of course, I went out to the parking lot and looked north,.... then south,.... then west,.... (east is the treeline remember).... something was on fire! The lady who lives across the highway came over and asked if I could tell where it was coming from, but of course I couldn't. It was the entire area! That much smoke was a large area, and there were no black clouds overhead. The smoke smell was so thick that even my throat developed that scratchy feeling you get when you inhale smoke from a campfire. I thought it MUST be a woods fire. I went back inside the shop and called a lady who also works at the shop sometimes (her husband is a fireman) and I asked her what was on fire in Carrollton. She called in to find out and calls me back. She says Mt. Zion has a big fire going on, and that Stripling Chapel where it meets Oak Grove Road has a woods fire. As a crow flies, that's a mile or so from the shop!

Finally one lone fire truck came down the highway with his siren screaming and I figured I was safe, but it stirred up my thoughts-- which is why I decided to post this.

What if fires become commonplace here, like they are out in California? What if we have to experience such a devastation? How terrible and frightening that would be. And since it isn't something we ever think would happen HERE, we likely wouldn't think to plan ahead for such an event. ..... My friends, we had 2 local fires going on at the same time. They highway didn't have lots and lots of firetrucks screaming in because they were divided between the fires. Had there been more than 2 fires, or if the fires had been bigger or wider spread.... somebody or somebodies would have likely had some serious worries!

So this note is just a call of warning, that we have daily threats to our well-being. We never know when they will happen. Had the woods fire raged a little wider and a little hotter, Walmart would not have been able to supply you with emergency needs. So go there NOW,.... stock your shelves NOW....purchase your fire safe NOW....store those fire extinguishers NOW.... replace your smoke alarm batteries NOW..... plan your home escape route NOW..... practice your fire drills NOW..... Let today serve as a warning, and heed it.