We’re having a drought here.

Things like the inches of rainfall we haven’t got are mentioned on the TV frequently, but not being a native, I have nothing to compare it to, so it doesn’t mean very much to me beyond the basic intellectual “Well, that’s bad.” But we definitely are in a drought.

This fact was brought home when I was driving down a fairly major street–Maynard, for locals–and discovered it was on fire.

This isn’t like, rural. This is a well groomed main road in a relatively high-density suburban area.

After a slackjawed moment, I realized that it was actually the side of the road that was on fire. The fire truck came screaming down just as I was driving up, and I got waved into the turn lane, so I didn’t see the extent of the damage, but there was some pretty good pouring smoke and quite a long stretch of former lawn and the undersides of a coupla trees are now char.

I am going to assume, granted the placement, that it was the standard flick-a-cigarette-butt-out-the-car-window thing, which then landed on the tinder dry road edge, and went up. It’d be nearly impossible for the fire to start from the other side, since it would have to go through a line of trees which had noticeably not burned yet.

The fire trucks were on it right away, and there was no lasting harm done, but it’s always a little unsettling to see the road catch fire two blocks from your house.