It was rather creepy. The air was HORRIBLE! It was the driest period of time I have ever seen. Not a drop of rain from late February till about the 6th or 7th of July. We were QUITE busy on the Fire Dept that year. I was on a Tiller Ladder Truck and had little to do with the Woods fires but being that many of the Engines were committed, it REALLY upped our work load for Structure Fires. We did get used for 3-4 Woods fires for manpower. I recall we had a rather nasty house fire when things were REALLY bad. It was late May, heat index of about 105, zero breeze and smoke in the air big time. Usually when I'd come out of a burning structure it was nice to yank off the SCBA mask and get a full gulp of fresh air. That time, I inhaled warm n very smokey air. Felt like I could not catch my breath. That was 26 years ago. Since that Spring, I will NEVER EVER complain about rain! That Spring was the only time I have ever seen a Live Oak tree start to wilt. There wasn't even an ounce of dew on the grass at 5 AM. It was DRY!
