Trial by fire: How to handle your next crisis

Less than three months after a fire blackened this stretch of prairie, grass and wildflowers flourish.

In early March, Reno County had the worst prairie fires in anyone’s memory, and Plum Prairie Ranch was right in the middle of the danger zone.

Eleven homes nearby were destroyed and about 6,000 acres burned, but that was less than 10 percent of a massive prairie fire in Clark and Comanche counties. The fire along the Oklahoma border burned more than 650,000 acres, making it the largest fire in Kansas history.

Though smaller, the Reno County fire impacted a more populous area, forcing the evacuation of about 2,000 people, including the family that rented the lovely, not-so-mobile home on the western edge of our property and Shawn’s brother’s family just north of Plum Prairie Ranch.

This picture was taken by our renters in front of our rental house before they evacuated.

As the week progressed, the evacuation area kept shrinking, but our land was in the zone that was the last to be cleared. Although we hadn’t planned a trip to the ranch, we decided to go inspect the damage. We weren’t sure what we’d see when we got there, based on aerial photos in the news that showed active burning on the edge of our land.

We were relieved to see the fire was extinguished along the eastern edge of the property, burning about two of our almost 30 acres. We lost some trees, but we could see the tracks of vehicles firefighters used and evidence of them chainsawing trees to make sure they burned out. We were thankful for their efforts.

The fire burned almost the entire 40 acres of pasture just east of us but didn’t harm our neighbor’s home or the barn there. Shawn’s brother’s house was within 25 feet of the fire, but he left his sprinkler system running, which may have saved the structure.

While we were there, Shawn spent time doing “tractor therapy” to move dead trees into piles for later burning. For this job, he used a variety of heavy machinery borrowed from the farm operated by his dad and another brother.

He used two different tractors (a green and yellow John Deere to mow the pasture and a blue and white New Holland bi-directional front end loader with a claw for moving dead trees), along with The Beast, a giant yellow payloader to push dead trees over and move piles together.

(If I could include my best “Tim the Toolman” grunt, “More POWER, Ar, Ar, Ar…” I would right here).

Shawn gets in some “tractor therapy.”

When I went back to Plum Prairie Ranch on Memorial Day Weekend, I walked to the back of the property to look at the burned area and was greeted by a carpet of lush, green grass and sunny wildflowers. You could still see the skeletons of burned cedar trees, but the land was recovering.

The corner of our property one week after the prairie fire.

The same corner ten weeks later.

All it took was time and rain.

Here are some lessons I learned from the prairie fire, and I think they can be applied to many crisis situations.

1. Build community around you.

After getting permission from the neighbor in between our property and my brother in-law’s land, Shawn worked with his dad and brother to install a gate in the back of the property for easier access. Also, his brother started to get to know the neighbor to the east as he helped clear some burned trees.

Look for the support available to you and offer it to others.

Sometimes a crisis has a way of burning off the junk in our lives to reveal what’s truly important. When I saw a news report interviewing a Reno County neighbor who had lost her home, she was thankful that her family was safe.

Stuff can be replaced. People are irreplaceable. Treasure the folks around you.

“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of compassion and the God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our troubles, so that we can comfort those in any trouble with the comfort we ourselves receive from God.” – 2 Cor. 1:3-4

2. As best you can, be prepared.

Shawn’s brother went out and bought a big water tank to carry on a pickup to fight future fires on his property. Thanks to the handy gate they installed, there are multiple ways to get the water to our land, too.

Shawn spent a week in late May at Plum Prairie Ranch burning piles of dead trees, which helps reduce the available fuel for any future fire. He borrowed the firefighting equipment to make sure his burning stayed in check.

Shawn had a fire truck at the ready when he burned brush piles in May.

Shawn also showed the girls and me how to use the big extinguishers and the water tank with the huge hose.

Realize that everyone has trials. Look for what God wants you to do with them.

“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” – Romans 8:28

3. Give yourself time to heal.

The land began to show signs of healing within weeks, but evidence of the fire remains.

When you’re in the midst of a trial or the pain is still fresh, realize that you will need time to heal. It’s okay to mourn, get mad or cut back activities to reserve your energy. Get outside help if you have trouble recovering.

We’ve all been through crisis situations. Even the most difficult ones become easier to bear with the passage of time, especially if we choose to draw closer to the Lord in the scorched earth places.

“Then Jesus said, ‘Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy to bear, and the burden I give you is light.’”

– Matt. 11:28-30

Prairie grass grows better after a fire. Ranchers often burn a pasture in the late winter to get better grass in the spring.