dreamshark

I was coming back from lunch (well, from ice skating, really) and I could see this towering pillar of smoke from 5 miles away. The closer I got to work the closer I got to the pillar of smoke. I was starting to wonder if I would return to find my workplace in flames [oh, no! my laptop!!]. But no, it was just a little smoky. The fire was a quarter mile away behind the pod of ugly townhouses. It was a pretty big deal, with fire engines, police cars, helicopters and ambulances roaring in from every jurisdiction within 15 miles. It was 2 or 3 hours before they got it under control - long enough for a pall of smoke to settle over many acres of desolate suburban landscape and seep into all the pores of our building. The news called it a "grass fire" but it was clearly burning through the sad little fringe of second-growth trees around the dredged out lakes. I'm sure it hit at least some of the nature trail where we walk and bike at lunch time. It was never really all that scenic, but the closest thing that this part of Shakopee has to an urban forest. Sad. I hope the turtles in the turtle pond over there didn't get parboiled.