Santa Barbara Fire Song in Three Parts

By Dennis Nord

Santa Barbara Fire Song: Three stories of wild fire.

In Santa Barbara as across the west, people live with more and more wildfire. These three stories provide perspective for young people caught up in wildfire. They build from the fairy tale “Black Belly Frog and the Fire” with an assault of the sudden discovery of rushing fire and the loss of home and threat to life. In “Gel’s Ants” a budding entomologist makes discoveries far beyond the harvester ants she is investigating that provides new leads on who started a terrible community-fire. “Canyon Fire” comes back to the moment of escaping the fast moving wildfire and the awful guilt of the accidental arsonist. Each story is a window into the experience for different aged young people who have been near wildfires and had their worlds shaken in the process.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Dennis Nord
• Release date: Apr 16, 2012
• ISBN: 9781476441832

Dennis Nord

Dennis is a naturalist and who resides on the mountain above Santa Barbara, CA. His love for sharing nature with children extends from guiding field trips to books. Profits from all book sales go to NatureTrack.org.

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Santa Barbara

Fire Song in Three Parts

Dennis L. Nord

Published by Dennis Nord at Smashwords

Copyright 2012 by Dennis L. Nord

This book is fiction with characters, names, places and incidents developed by the author or they are used fictitiously. Correspondence with or resemblance to actual events, locales or living or dead people is strictly unintended and coincidental.

Smashwords Edition, License Notes

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Chapter 1. Black Belly Frog and the Fire

Fire crackled and lunged, brush was lit by the ground fire, which moved higher in bright orange and red flames jumping bush to bush. Black smoke billowed along the upward curve of the land.

Black Belly Frog hung upside down from his favorite limb enjoying the cool morning breeze. He never falls even while sleeping. His toes keep him well attached. His stubby nostrils twitched. He wasn’t really awake yet. He sneezed, once, twice and then three times! Now he was awake. One eye opened, then the other.

What’s that awful smell? He asked himself.

His eyes darted as he sniffed the air and began to cough part way through a yawn.

Yuck! What’s that? What’s that awful smell?

BB looked carefully through the leaves and branches of his tree. He expected the sun to come over the ridge.

With a start, he recognized the smell. Smoke! BB had smelled smoke from campfires and barbeques. But this was morning. What would be burning now?

He saw the sun coming over the mountain ridge. Rays of sunlight spread between the trees around him. He saw brown grass on the hillside and the green leaves of the oak tree and red leaves of the poison oak.

BB was wide-awake.

Where did the smoke come from?

Blue smoke curled into the air, brighter in the sunrays. The sun was oddly red and there was a black dot on its face. He jumped to the front porch of his home in one huge leap and opened the door.

Mom! Dad! Smoke! Fire!

BB hadn’t realized how afraid he was. His charge into the house brought everyone out of bed. BB’s dad followed by Mom and Argyle suddenly stood at the door.

Look, smoke. There’s a fire! BB said.

Dad pushed through the door and sniffed the air. He coughed, and sputtered a little and went back in.

Grab anything you can carry. I’ll go up the tree and see where the smoke is coming from. Don’t leave until I come back! Said Dad.

What to take? BB went to the room he shared with Argyle. He took out his baseball mitt from the drawer. He picked up his favorite trading card of the pitcher Freddy Frog Ferguson who plays first base for the Fresno Fly Catchers.

What’re you taking Argyle? BB asked his big brother.

Argyle was looking in his dresser.

I had my best fly bait right here. Said Argyle in frustration. "Can’t find it. Got my watch on my wrist and I got a family picture here