  Ok, now that I'm on a roll here is another fire story. About six months earlier there was a great lightning storm along the mountains just East of the town, this was a regular occurrence, but this storm was very nasty. There was about, oh I'd say 100,000 acres of empty sage brush, cheat grass and tumbleweeds where the fire started. The fire for some reason moved from East to West, against the wind directly into town. Well seeing as the population of Winnemucca was only 2500 at the time, every person who could swing a shovel was put to work on the fire line.
The fire would burn and then jump and start somewhere else, I later understood that cheat grass roots act like a kind of fuse, allowing the fire to burn underground for as much as twenty or so feet before springing up somewhere else, well the BIG men were driving caterpillars and cutting fire breaks as fast as they could trying to stop it, but the fire was racing ahead of them just as fast. My friend and I decided that we needed to go get some water for the crew, as it was very hot and dry work also we knew the town water supply was just over the ridge in a canyon in a cave... We gathered up all the containers we could find and set off for the water. The door was a two inch thick sheet of steel, and bolted shut, but being resourceful youths we got the bolts off and went in to the cave, how can I tell you the difference in the temperature?? The cave must have been 70 or so degrees, where as outside it was over 100 and the fire made it even hotter, it was heaven. My friend and I began filling everything we could with that cold water to take to the cat operators on the line, just as we started to leave, about ten men came rushing into the cave slamming the door shut.
Thank God you guys had this door open they shouted, Why? We asked, because the fire is buring right over us!! We could feel the air pressure change and the temp rise just a bit, but not more than ten degrees, the noise was like a wind blowing by, then it was gone.
When we opened the door, the ground looked like a smoking Moonscape, all grey and nothing but ash. We slogged that water to everyone we could find, they all thanked us too. I remember that night, the Sun had set long ago, but we were still at it, there was a Pinion pine burning along the ridge, me and about six of my friends were standing around looking at it and a man drove up in a truck. He threw a six pack of 24 ounce Budweiser's and some shovels at us, and yelled, go to it until it's out!! We laughed and drank beer and threw dirt on a burning tree for the next four hours!!! But we put that sucker out!! Ah well, memories... Love you Jewle. ME 
