There was a fire and it wasn't the first.  Orders were given by CAL FIRE and USFS:  Evacuate, everyone, now.  In 2008, after weeks of preparing to meet the fire, Tassajara was about to be abandoned to fend for itself against the third largest wildfire in California's history.  

Five monks stayed, later referred to as the Fire Monks.  The same titled book shares the story of the preparations for the approaching fires, the interactions with the various fire agencies and the strength of the Zen community.  Their response was a reflection of their practices of paying attention and having an open and flexible mind.

Tassajara is isolated, but benefited from having a creek readily available for water, standpipes for hoses, and a large swimming pool.  It did not help that one dirt road was the only way in or out and it was 16 miles to Jamesburg.  Once the road was compromised by fire, there would be no help.  This they knew.   

After the guests and some students had been evacuated, the remaining got busy.  Those that stayed worked. The community banded together limbing trees, digging fire lines around the perimeter, clearing brush, and raking anything that could ignite the fire.  

There was a precedence.  In 1977 Zen students also cut fire lines and set sprinklers on roofs of the central buildings defending against the Marble Cone fire.  The, monks worked alongside firefighters, who were assigned to protect Tassajara.   Cut to 2008,  the fire management was under "unified command" with input from USFS, CAL FIRE, Monterey County Sheriff's Office and the state firefighting agency.  As the fire spread, the weather became hotter, dryer and fire-friendly, and the the order came down to evacuate Tassajara.  But, much to the disappointment of the monks, no help was offered.  The road into Tassajara was closed and guarded. The Fire Monks were left alone.

The book offers the story of the preparation for the approaching fire, the waiting and watching, the interplay of the various agencies and the eventual arrival of the fire.  But that's not all.  What I ate up was the interplay between the zen training and their response.  Their practice had allowed them to stay focused, get a job done and work as a group, no one feeling superior to another.  

Monks are trained to follow a schedule, but it is "not intended to restrict, but is meant to release." The student monks take up whatever position they're  assigned.  They cook, clean, serve meals, turn compost, scrub toilets, change sheets.  One is not higher than the other.  A Zen student undertakes work as a practice.  It was this attitude and skill that led the community to prepare and fight the fire.  In preparing Tassajara for the impending fire, everyone worked.  The community that is created in the zendo during hours of mediation was now transferred to the ground of Tassajara.  "This is what a sangha looks like:  a chain of bodies clearing leaves or passing thirty-pound bags of flour hand-to-hand. . . "  

During an interview with one of the abbots, he shared their preparedness for the fire, not just physically, but mentally:  "We'll be moving more vigorously than usual and we'll be watching those tendencies to get overexcited.  We'll stay calm and alert.  We'll be ready."  And, finally, instead of anger or aggressiveness toward the fire, the abbot related, "We're not really fighting the fire.  We're meeting the fire, letting the fire come to us."  We'll make friends with it, tame it as it reaches our boundaries."   

These bits of wisdom were sprinkled throughout Five Monks(1).  The honor, work ethic, centerness and clarity of the monks stuck with me.   Perhaps you'll check the book out from your local library, like I did.  If not, support your local Copperfield's Books or Book Passages or Keplers.