Can You Say "BLIZZARD"?

It has been a very busy several days….too busy to even blog. What’s strange is I was off for the last four days, but haven’t taken the time to blog.

Last Friday and Saturday was our youth lock-in at the church, so I was extremely busy on Friday getting things ready for the lock-in. To top it off, there were several grass fires on Friday, so when I wasn’t working on the lock-in, I was out assisting, through REACT, with the grass fires.

I was in bed by midnight on Friday and up by 7 am. None of the students stayed up all night…they were all too tired. We had donuts for breakfast on Saturday morning and then the students played some board games. We didn’t have to leave the fellowship hall until 11 am, so they were making the most of their time. At around 9:15 am, I received a call from a fellow REACT member, concerning a large fire. It seems as if some workers were putting hot tar on the roof of a business at 11601 S. Western, when one of their propane tanks dropped and exploded. So, I left the students with the other youth leaders and responded to the location to assist with traffic control. When I arrived, OCPD already had the street blocked off, so I approached an officer and asked if I could help. He informed me they were doing ok, but suggested I check with the fire department.

When I arrived, the fire was out and the fire department was just dousing the hot spots. I took a few pictures and then headed back over to where the police were blocking the street. Another REACT member had arrived and was assisting the police with traffic control. We both stayed and assisted PD until firefighters rolled up their hoses. At that point, the police released us. Then, it was on to my next venture….helping my son move out of his apartment.

I drove north side and helped him haul two loads of furniture to our house. Once I had finished that, I went home to rest….it was about 3 pm. I laid down for about an hour and my cell phone started ringing. I was in my bedroom and I had left my phone in the living room. Since most of my family was on the road somewhere, I decided to check and see who was trying to call. Come to find out, it was our REACT vice-president. He advised me there was a massive grass fire in the town of Tryon, Okla., which is just north of Wellston, Okla..in Lincoln County. The president of Central Okla. REACT is a reserve deputy for the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office and was on duty. He had requested as many REACT units as possible to assist with traffic control on the grass fires. Even though I was exhausted, I responded…as well as two other REACT members. It took us about an hour to get to the scene. By the time we got there, the main body of the grass fire was knocked down, but they were still fighting many hot spots.

Myself and another REACT unit blocked off one section, while another REACT unit blocked another section. We assisted Tryon Police and Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office….and the Payne County Emergency Management. There were fire trucks from many small towns assisting in fighting the fires. There were new fire trucks from larger towns and there were fire trucks from small towns that I was surprised were even running. Many of these smaller communities have very little firefighting equipment. We arrived at 17:30 pm and did not leave until 21:30 pm. There were still a few hot spots, but most of the fire was out. I arrived home at 22:30 pm and was in bed by 23:00 pm.

It was a very tiring day on Sunday. I could barely keep my eyes open for church. After church, we had to continue helping Stephen move stuff out of his apartment. I eventually made it home and took a nap.

I took off work yesterday to do some relaxing. Plus, we had a Winter storm/blizzard heading our way on Tuesday, so I was getting my truck and house stocked for the weather. During the day, I also stopped and assisted a lady with a flat tire on I-44. Then, I met my wife and daughter at a Chinese restaurant and we had dinner. Yesterday, the City of Okla. City had decided to go ahead and shut down the City Tuesday because of the blizzard we were expecting. Only essential personnel had to report to work…which included me.

This morning, I got up at 5:15 am and got ready to head into work. I drove through the blizzard and made it to work alright. It wasn’t easy, but I made it. When I arrived, my boss informed me that he had contacted the other dispatchers and clerks and told them to stay home. So, today, it is my boss and I working in emergency services…nobody else.

http://www.okcentralreact.org/