FIRE!

A fire started in one of the old, wooden buildings on the malecon near the marina on a clear, windless morning last week. I was up town doing laundry (exciting events tend to take place when I'm doing laundry). Jim took these photos from the boat which is docked in the Old Marina in Santa Rosalia, Mexico. (Actually, I think Carolyne took the photos, which would explain why most are crooked.)

The fire department in this tiny pueblo is volunteer. The fire truck arrived almost immediately, but they had to wait on the water tanker, which arrived 5 or 10 minutes later... no fire hydrants, you see.  Then it took a bit to attach the fire truck to the water truck.

Once the water was set on the fire, however, the flames were put to rest quite quickly. There was a house attached to the structure behind the flames which survived. And a large construction company connected to the structure also survived.

Considering, I think the fire department did a fantastic job putting the fire out as soon as they did. It is a stone cold fact, however, that Santa Rosalia's downtown area is constructed mostly of wood transported here in the late 1800's from the Pacific Northwest. Should a fire erupt in these downtown buildings and with the strong winds we've been having this week, the fire department would have a nightmare on their hands.