Haibun for Cache Creek Fire

Cache Creek Fire, Wallowa-Whitman National Forest, eXtreme Northeast Oregon today - 73,500 acres, short grass, brush, pockets of timber, uphill runs where receptive fuels exist, otherwise creeping and smoldering. Single lane roads strewn like toothpaste on the cliffs and oversteepened slopes. Significant event: Vehicle rollover with minor injuries. Sunning himself too old to do the work, an old guy by the post office says sternly, “let the county burn, we need the jobs.”

outside the black,
the flaming teeth
September moon

news from a small town 11, September 2012