Our Friendly Neighborhood Wildfire Experience

So, we had a wildfire today! We didn't get a lot of snow last winter, and we haven't had a lot of rain recently, and in Alaska that's all prime conditions for a wildfire. And sure enough, one broke out just outside of my neighborhood today. Fortunately, there was a river between us and the flames, so no homes were endangered, and no one had to evacuate. But man, if it wasn't the most exciting thing that happened in our neighborhood in a long time.

So here's what we know:

• I'm not sure when the fire started, but I do know that smoke became visible on our street around 5:00-5:20 p.m. 
• The smoke got more profuse and more worrying. Cars started slowing down to look. My siblings and I were walking home from a friend's house; we hurried home at this point and alerted our parents. 
• We originally assumed it was a controlled fire to burn out dry brush, as we hadn't been alerted or heard any fire warnings. 
• A friend called 911. Turns out that close-looking fire wasn't controlled, and firefighters were working hard just to contain it. 
• We started packing in case of evacuation. 
• My dad and I went out to check on people we know who lived a little closer to the fire's location. As we went we gathered information about the situation from neighbors and friends.
• We learned that the fire was started by some campers. Also, there's a river between us and where it was, so there wasn't any immediate danger. 
• The wind continued blowing the fire away from our neighborhood, so no evacuation/emergency measures were necessary. 
• Smoke and flames continued to be visible from our neighborhood, but again, the fire never got within a dangerous distance of us. 
• The fire has now, as I write this, been contained and the emergency/excitement is over. 

Like I said, this is the most exciting thing that's happened in this neighborhood in a while. It's definitely given everyone a lot to think about. And it's possible that, if we don't get rain, this will happen again in June, July, or August. So the upside of all this is that we've had a test run and now have an idea of what to do if we do ever have to evacuate. 

My dad and I took videos and pictures as everything was going down, and I'm going to be compiling those into a sort of mini-documentary, which will be up on YouTube shortly. This really has been a unique experience. I thank God we weren't hurt and our friends and neighbors are safe. And now, in case a real wildfire emergency happens, we know what to do.