Firebreak (Josie Gray Mysteries #4)(6)
The room was silent. Josie thought about Doug’s description and wondered how a team of firefighters could discern the front end of a fire at night and with no aerial view, just the knowledge passed along by the firefighters themselves and the spotters throughout the county. It was a frightening thought.
“We’ve got a positive going for us tonight. A hotshot crew out of Montana is here in Artemis. They’re smoke jumpers who were flying in to train at Big Bend National Park this weekend. They’ve agreed to help us until we get this under control. It’ll put more feet on the ground.” Doug motioned his head toward the back of the room and Josie noticed that Pete and several other men in khaki jumpsuits had entered the room. Several people began clapping and then the room filled with applause. The men standing in the doorway grinned at the reception and waved it off.
Doug spent the next ten minutes discussing the plan of action and making it clear that he didn’t want the law enforcement officers fighting the fire; he wanted them supporting the firefighters with evacuation efforts.
“If I can use one of you on the line I’ll ask you personally.” He pointed toward the men and women sitting at the desks in front of him. “Most of these volunteers have been with me for several years now. It takes two years to really begin understanding fire suppression. The variables are endless, from the fuel on the ground to wind speed and direction, humidity, firebreaks, number of men and the tools being used. Homes and ranches and barns all burn different. All these things affect how we approach a fire. It’s not just a matter of pointing a fire hose at it. Without proper training you could put yourself and everyone else in grave danger.”
Doug pointed at Josie. “Chief Gray and her department are in charge of evacuations in and around Artemis.” Josie nodded once, acknowledging what she already knew. Doug gestured across the room at Roy Martínez, a burly, retired marine. “Sheriff Martínez is in charge of the evacuation at the jail. Gray and Martínez already have a working evacuation plan. They’ll be contacting their volunteer groups to aid in the evacuation. Just make sure you’re ready for your call tonight.”
After the law enforcement officers were dismissed, Josie and Otto walked to the police department to discuss plans for the night. The department was located directly across the street from the main entrance of the Arroyo County Courthouse. The PD was connected to the City Office on one side, where Mayor Steve Moss worked, and Tiny’s Gun Club on the other. The PD had two large plate-glass windows facing the courthouse square, with a glass door in the middle. Artemis Police Department was painted in gold across the window to the left of the door, with their motto, To Serve and Protect, painted on the other. She and Otto walked into the building and both sighed at the cool of the air-conditioning and the familiar stale smell of the office. Dispatcher Lou Hagerty rolled her desk chair back from her computer when she saw them.
Lou had recently gone on a health kick, giving up snack food, coffee, and soft drinks. She had lost thirty pounds, which had left her white dispatcher shirt and navy pants hanging loosely on her thin body. Josie was certain that Lou could pull on the pants and shirt without unbuttoning or unzipping anything. Her pants were cinched around her waist with a belt that Lou had proudly drilled a new hole in to accommodate her smaller size. Josie had suggested several times that Lou needed to order a new set of clothes, but Lou hadn’t taken the hint.
Despite this change in diet, Marlboro Lights still poked out of the side of Lou’s purse, which sat on her desktop, waiting for the break when she could leave the building and smoke two. Lou had made it very clear she had no intention of quitting cigarettes; she said they were keeping her healthy while she got through the first year of breaking the snack food habit.
“I just heard about the second fire,” Lou said. “You ready to start evacuations? I’ve already had several calls.”
“When people call, tell them we’ll be announcing all road closings and evacuation routes on Marfa Public Radio. Otto and I are pulling together the mandatory evacuation plans now. They’ll be announced first on MPR, and then we’ll start the phone trees. We could be moving people as early as tonight. My suggestion is head for the evacuation centers in Marfa or Presidio as a precaution.”
FOUR
Otto followed Josie up the stairs and waited behind her as she unlocked the door to the office. She flipped on the lights and heard the familiar buzz of the fluorescent bulbs. The room was split into three workspaces, for Josie, Otto, and Marta, furnished with matching metal desks and filing cabinets, with a large conference table in the front. Josie’s attention was drawn beyond Otto and Marta’s desks to the large windows that made up the back wall. The view was grim; the sky was dark and she was no longer able to tell if she was seeing the overcast sky or smoke from the Harrison Ridge fire.
She found the Artemis evacuation plan in her filing cabinet. She ignored the county map. The fire had already spread through the upper two-thirds of the county and the residents there had been evacuated days ago to Presidio County. Doug had said it would be several days before residents of the two towns up north would be allowed to return home.
Otto grabbed them each a water bottle out of the dorm-sized refrigerator located at the back of the office. He handed one to Josie and said, “It’s been almost six years since we faced an evacuation like this. I got a call from the director of EMS. She says they’re ready with shelters set up at the schools in Presidio.”