Ironically, this morning I received two calls from the 911 center. The first call I didn't get much information out of the caller. The dialer told me it was a reverse 911 call and he was looking for school official heads. With the second telephone call he informed me that the reason for this call was to check on the fire and the smoke hazard at local schools. I told him I was about a mile away and probably couldn't help him unless he wanted me to call him back. He said no thanks and he would stop calling me.
I am a little concerned. If there was a real emergency and people were being notified with the reverse 911 call center would I be notified? Will I only be notified by accident if the call is for the school officials? I am truly thinking of moving or at the very least find the neighbor that has lived in the neighborhood the longest with the same phone number so that hopefully such a mistake wouldn't occur to them and I could be notified to leave by them. Of course seeing a hundred vehicles going down the street might clue me in that there was an evacuation.
Last week the muck fire wasn't close enough to the schools. Everyone in Port St John has been warned to stay inside if they have difficulty breathing. This especially applies to those who have asthma, are on oxygen, or are just getting choked up from the smoke.
The smoke has been in the area almost a week from a muck fire that was burning underground. The muck fire could possibly burn for two more weeks. The muck fire that was all smoke and only burning underground has made its way above ground and now turned into a brush fire. So, instead of just worrying about the smoke we are now worrying about the actual flames. The brush fire consumed an additional 40 acres, according to officials, bringing the total acreage count to 60 acres in the Port St. John area according to wftv.com.
Luckily the fires are burning only in the woods and all eyes are on it. The fires should be contained and when they get close to the homes the owners will be notified and possibly evacuated. That is of course if the reverse 911 system works for them.
