HappyDay: ‘Calming the Anxiety of Fire Season’

Casey O’Neill is a cannabis and food farmer in Mendocino County who has been writing newsletters about his efforts to provide sustainable produce and marijuana. We feature his column once a week.

     Smoke in the air, fires are burning and the anxiety is real.  We’re all feeling it, the background to summer in this place of drought and climate change.  It is important that we recognize this reality and work to hold each other up.  Now is a time to reflect before responding, to focus on breath, to hold compassion.

      The intensity of the times hangs in the air, spoken or not.  There are different coping mechanisms, some healthier and more helpful than others.  I’m trying to focus more on food and hydration and avoid stress-drinking.  The pull of a cold cider after a long day is hard to resist, and the relaxation is helpful in moderation.  I try to hold balance with my consumption, and the same goes for cannabis.

      I try to take small steps towards fire-preparedness as a means of quieting the chattering mind.  Planning and training are helpful for feeling a modicum of control at a time when I often feel powerless in the face of forces that operate on a planetary scale.  I also strive for acceptance, that what will be, will be.

      On the homestead we use animals and machinery to keep fuels down to help slow the movement of a potential fire.  Pigs and poultry do a great job of knocking down forage and trampling it flat, incorporating it with the topsoil layer.  There are some places that are too bare and will need mulch come the rainy season, but for now they make excellent fire breaks.

      I fired up the Honda pump and tested the sprinklers a few weeks ago, making sure that the fire tank is topped off.  I got out the tub of fire hoses, and made sure there were nozzles for each.  We have three locations with 1 ½” connection for fire hoses, and we purchased and are about to install 2 ½” connections for use by fire engines as instructed by CalFire during a recent inspection.

     Every other Saturday morning our volunteer fire department holds training from 10-12, an opportunity for practicing with the equipment and learning about fighting fire.  This past training we went over radio operation and practiced hose lay for a grass fire attack.

       If I’m honest, I don’t always want to go to training.  With so much to be done on farm, it’s hard to make myself attend, but I think about the inevitability of fire in our area and I go to training if I’m able.  I think about community, about resiliency and about adaptation to climate change.  I think about how we need to pull together in the face of the common threat of fire, and I am grateful for the opportunity to learn to do so.

      In September the community will hold a fundraiser for our Bell Springs Fire Department, just like we do every year (except during 2020).  We’ll send out a mailer to property owners and we’ll solicit donations on social media.  As a community, we raise the funds to equip the department and to help maintain the equipment we have.

       I am glad for the shared effort of our volunteer fire department for the sense of community and preparedness that it fosters.  Going to training is a way of beating back the mental chatter, calming the anxiety of fire season through action.  I feel the same about working on preparedness on the homestead, each small step a hopeful movement in the face of overwhelming uncertainty.

      There is deep strength that rises to the surface during times of difficulty.  Community leans into the work and we carry the shared burden of anxiety by preparing and sharing.  We offer compassion and care to each other, commiserating on the difficulties and celebrating the victories along the way.

       Fire is not an “if”, but a “when”.  From the little things like knowing where the important documents are and what we will grab if we have to run, to the bigger things like being prepared on the homestead and in the community, we take steps to be ready.  We also focus on the larger aspects of climate change and try to act in ways that build soil and hold more water in the landscape.

      Human activity has gotten us to this place of increasing fire intensity and climate change.  It is my fervent belief that we can work together to change this path, and that there is hope for the future.  As always, much love and great success to you on your journey!