Part 3 - Fire!

This is the part of the story that gets a little weird.

I had just finished eating my steak at my kitchen table. My plate was still on the table, in fact, when my electricity went off.

I might add that on Thursday, I checked the weather forecast. There was a 10 percent chance of rain. On Friday, it poured. I put my car in the garage just in case, but otherwise I ignored the storms, because there didn't seem to be a chance of tornadoes.

When my electricity came back on a few seconds later, my dogs were acting crazy. Like, really, really crazy. Somebody is trying to murder us crazy!

I walked outside on my front porch, to try and figure out what was going on. My dogs like barking at air sometimes, so I wasn't expecting to find anything alarming.

I noticed a large tree branch in the street, but it wasn't my tree, so I decided it wasn't my problem to deal with it.

And then I looked directly across the street, and I noticed an orange flickering light.

Oh, shit. I had a feeling I knew what it was. I grabbed my phone, and walked a little closer, maybe half a block up on the other side of the street.

What I saw was flames. Not only flames, but flames that were shooting and sparking everywhere.

OH MY GOD.

I called 911, standing my neighbor's yard. The operator wanted to know if I was close enough to see what was on fire. I told her that no, I was not close enough. I only saw flames. And then I told her that she was welcome to get closer if she wanted to, but I didn't feel comfortable doing that.

Also, my voice was shaking so much, it's kind of amazing she understood anything I said.

I totally chickened out. I called my Mom and told her that there was a fire across the street from my house, and I told her that she was going to have a few roommates that night (the Pugs and I).

My dinner plate was still sitting on my table.

I might add that everything ended up being okay. I drove past the church the next morning, and you can't even tell anything happened. The vehicles in the parking lot were fine and the grass was green and not burnt.

My best guess is that the storm caused some sort of electrical fire in the parking lot/alley behind the church.

I gathered what was important to me that night: My Pugs, some financial documents, and my favorite pieces of jewelry. And then I went to my Mom and Dad's house, sat on their couch for a couple hours, tried to not throw up everywhere, and went to bed.

Like I said, everything was fine in the end. Maybe I didn't have to leave, but I wouldn't have slept at all with a freaking fire across the street.

Pickles, the little black dog, tortures Jasper.

Also, I kept wondering what people who live in wildfire prone areas feel like during the summer. That sinking feeling in my stomach lasted several hours.

Phew.

I also refilled my prescription for anxiety medicine. I now have a three-month supply. So, I challenge life to keep throwing unexpected things at me.

Just wait until part four of this series!